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Students suffering from election apathy
LAHORE, Dec 09, 2007: Students are not interested
in voting because the government or political parties have not tried to involve
them, several students said on Saturday.
Students of various
institutes – including Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the
Beaconhouse National University (BNU) and the National College of Arts (NCA) –
said that most students were unaware of the process because no government or
political organisation had ever tried to involve them in the process. "Only the
emergency rule has motivated some of the students to cast vote to defeat
President Pervez Musharraf's ideology," said an NCA student.
LUMS student
Mashal Zia said she did not care for voting because she believed that the
upcoming elections would be rigged. "No matter who I like, only those people
will be elected who have already been selected," she said.
NCA student
Omar Khakwani said there was no proper system of voting in Pakistan and that he
was unaware about formalities he had to fulfill to cast vote. "I am overburdened
with studies and cannot get time to learn about electoral procedures. And if
students are important in the process, then the government should raise
awareness among them about the importance of this exercise," he said.
BNU student Noor Farooqi said the elections were "fabricated and it is
already decided who will win the elections". She said she would not go to any
polling station to cast vote. "Electronic voting is the best way, as it can save
people from lot of trouble," she added.
Kinnaird College student Hina
Raza said the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) should provide
details about the people above the ago of 18 and that there should not be any
type of form filling to be eligible to cast vote. "Democracy is by the people
and for the people and that electoral process should show that it is for the
people," she said. In other parts of the world, she said, citizens were
penalised for not casting their vote.
Former finance minister and BNU
vice chancellor Sartaj Aziz said the ban on student unions was one of the main
reasons for "students' lethargic attitude towards political process". The other
reason, he said, was that colleges and universities focused only on studies.
"And that is why no more than 15 percent of youths take part in this democratic
process. But I am of the view that students should not take part in politics and
focus on their studies," he added.
Election Commission (EC) secretary
Kanwar Dilshad Ahmad said the EC had done its best to raise awareness of the
electoral process among the poeple. "Proposals, however, are always welcomed for
improvement," he added. Daily Times
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