The most important and much-awaited general elections are going to take place tomorrow. With polling beginning at 8am on Thursday till 5pm, following are the guidelines for casting your vote:
- The first step is to find one's polling station concerned where you have to cast your vote. The Election Commission of Pakistan has provided an SMS service to get that information.
- One is supposed to send an SMS with their national identity card number to 8300.
- After sending your ID card number, you will receive the block code, serial number, the National and provincial assembly constituencies of the voter, and the polling station address to cast your vote at.
- Voters are required to bring their original CNIC along with them to the polling station to cast their vote; otherwise, they will not be allowed inside a polling station. Photocopies of the ID card, driving license or any other document will not be admissible in the polling station.
- Voters cannot take their mobile phones to the polling station. But there is no restriction on taking pictures of one's thumb after having cast a vote outside a polling booth.
- Voters are advised to reach their polling station as early as possible if they want to avoid long queues and cast their vote on time.
- The presiding officer will verify one's name and electoral number in the voter list; after which he will tick it off and make sure that a voter receives two ballots for a National and provincial assembly seat each.
- The official stamp and signature on both papers are compulsory; otherwise, one won’t be able to cast a vote. Two kinds of papers will be given to a voter: white for provisional assembly and green for the National Assembly.
- At the end, make sure one does not stamp on more than one candidate’s election symbol on either ballot.
