Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Muscat: Pakistanis living in the Sultanate of Oman hope that they would have the right to vote in the next general elections in their country.
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has been demanding fair and fresh general elections after being ousted on April 11 following a no-confidence vote. Khan has been holding massive rallies around the country against what he calls ‘foreign conspiracy’, and demanding early general elections.
With the current political scenario in the country, Pakistanis living inside and outside the country are hopeful that the general elections may happen this year and that overseas Pakistanis could have the right to vote.
“I have been living in Oman for almost seven years now and unfortunately, I missed the elections in 2018 when Imran Khan won a majority. Pakistanis staying overseas didn’t have the right to vote then, but I am glad that Khan won the elections fair and square.
“Now after Khan has been ousted, he has been calling for early general elections because he knows that his removal was unjust and unfair. We are hoping that this time we will be given the right to cast our votes. The incumbent government will try its best to scuttle the demand as they know Khan will sweep the elections,” Junaid Akram, electrical engineer based in Muscat, said.
Moreover, another Pakistani citizen who has been based in Oman for over four decades feels that the overseas Pakistanis should not only get the right to vote but also be offered seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan.
“We overseas Pakistanis are remitting around $21 billion every year from across the globe, including $2.1 billion from GCC and around $750 millions from Oman.
“I think being a major contributor of forex to the country, we not only deserve the voting rights but also some seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan,” Arshad Ali Khan, Legal and Management Consultant in Oman, said.
Last week, Pakistan’s local media Geo News reported that the ruling coalition has started work on electoral reforms to ensure free and fair elections in the country. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning and Development, has proposed a set of electoral reforms.
They include shunning the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) or the internet; allocation of seats in Parliament for Pakistanis living abroad; return of electoral lists from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to the Election Commission; creation of constituencies on the basis of population and not registered voters; abandoning the use of the Results Transmission System (RTS) for results; and encouragement to the use of CCTV cameras to ensure transparency.
“Democracy in my country is still in its infancy due to reasons that are known and therefore, not surprising,” said A H Raja, Former Chairman of Pakistan Social Club Oman.
He continued, “The outgoing government is insisting on immediate elections and the incumbent officials are opposed to it. The economy took a severe beating and is in an uncontrollable trajectory with the prices of essential and staple food items soaring northward.”
“But on the other side, pressure is building up for early elections. This is the only way in which the country can be brought back on rails…in conclusion, I can see the elections happening not before the end of this year and perhaps for the National Assembly only. Voting rights for overseas Pakistanis is not the option,” he added.
