The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the body that runs elections, will begin ECP women voter registration as a pilot in Kasur, Punjab, and Qambar Shahdadkot, Sindh, from December 2026 to February 2027. The commission’s stated goal is to register 174,845 women who are eligible to vote but lack Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs)—the national ID document—or are missing from the electoral rolls, and thereby narrow the gender gap between male and female voters on those rolls.
District targets and who will be reached
Under the plan, Kasur accounts for 115,689 of the women to be registered and Qambar Shahdadkot for 59,156. Officials will first focus on statistical blocks—small mapped areas used for election work—where the gap between male and female voter registration is widest, using data collected for that purpose.
Local social workers and enumerators will go door to door to identify eligible women, prepare block-wise lists, and explain why obtaining a CNIC and completing voter registration matter. The commission said the campaign is aimed at women who can vote but are blocked by missing IDs or incomplete roll entries.
How registration will work on the ground
To ease access, the ECP will coordinate with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), which issues CNICs, to send Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs) to women’s doorsteps. Registration help will also be offered at centres set up in government buildings.
Schools and health facilities, civil society groups, community representatives and other partners are expected to help mobilise residents, spread awareness and support women through the paperwork. Oversight will sit with the ECP’s Gender and Social Inclusion Wing, provincial and district election commissioners, and Election Monitoring and Coordination Centres, working with NADRA.
Why the pilot matters beyond two districts
The commission plans to use ECP women voter registration in these two districts both to raise women’s presence on the rolls and to build a replicable model for other parts of the country. The exercise is also meant to surface operational problems, measure results and judge whether similar drives can be expanded nationwide.
The ECP restated its commitment to an inclusive electoral system in which eligible citizens—especially women and marginalised communities—can obtain identity documents and use their constitutional right to vote on equal terms.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- November 2026: Preparatory data collection for the pilot is scheduled.
- December 2026: Door-to-door and mobile registration activities are due to begin in Kasur and Qambar Shahdadkot.
- December 2026–February 2027: The three-month registration campaign runs toward the 174,845 target.
- February 2027: The pilot registration window is set to close, after which results and challenges can be assessed for possible national expansion.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Election Commission do zilon—Kasur aur Qambar Shahdadkot—mein khawateen ko vote ke liye register karne ka pilot shuru kare gi. December 2026 se February 2027 tak ghar ghar ja kar aur NADRA ki mobile vans se madad mile gi. Target lagbhag 174,845 khawateen hain jin ke paas CNIC nahi ya vote list mein naam nahi. Is se mard aur aurat voters ke beech ka farq kam karne ki koshish hai, aur baad mein yahi tareeqa dusre ilaqon mein bhi aa sakta hai.
