ECP reduces gender gap to 7.4% in elections

ISLAMABAD: The Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan, Omar Hameed Khan, said Monday that the Election Commission reduced the gender gap in the 2024 general elections to 7.4 percent, terming it a significant milestone.

He was speaking at the eight-year partnership ceremony of the USAID and UNDP joint project ‘SELP’. He explained the number of women candidates increased significantly in the 2024 general elections as well.

The secretary Election Commission emphasized that 1.4 million polling staff were trained and more than 2,000 voter education sessions were organized before the 2024 general elections, among other steps.

The Election Commission, he noted, has also developed the ‘Gender Main Streamlining and Social Inclusion Framework’ (GMSIF) from 2024 to 2028 for gender inclusion in the electoral system. The secretary Election Commission noted that this framework is the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region that focuses on gender and social inclusion in the electoral process.

He also said that the Election Commission has established a state-of-the-art ‘Election Monitoring Control Center’ at the head office, aimed at monitoring the elections.

Moreover, he continued, the Election Commission made extensive use of social media for public awareness and launched an awareness campaign on misinformation and rumours in collaboration with Meta.

He added that the Election Commission is one of the first government agencies to have a WhatsApp channel. The UNDP has taken important steps to increase the participation of minority groups in the electoral process under the SELP project.

The joint efforts of the Election Commission, NADRA and civil society organizations helped in the preparation of national identity cards for women, which reduced the gender gap in the electoral rolls.

The campaign included nearly one million women in the electoral rolls, including 100,000 people with disabilities and other minority groups. The project conducted a voter education and information campaign for the 2024 elections through various media outlets including TV, radio, social media and SMS, reaching 221 million people.

In addition, a framework for youth electoral and political participation was developed and dialogue sessions were held with political party leaders. The SELP project developed a national strategy to ensure the inclusion of transgenders in the electoral process.

In this regard, the video ‘Changing Tides – Advocating for Equality’ and case studies titled ‘Electoral Journey of Transgender Political Candidates’ were also developed to highlight the challenges faced by transgender candidates.

The representatives of UNDP, USAID and other participants including members of parliament, appreciated the efforts of theElection Commission and said that its initiatives will help ensure the inclusion of all sections of the population in the electoral process.