UAE expats fail to connect with Pakistan’s I-Voting system

DUBAI: With just a few hours left for the by-elections in Pakistan, expatriates living in the UAE said they continued to face issues in registering themselves with the online voting system, raising concerns about the validity and scope of the program.
Yousuf Bangash, an office boy and resident of Abu Dhabi for more than 11 years, said he had no idea how to use the I-Voting system. “I am not educated and cannot read or write. How can I use the Internet?” Bangash, 34, from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said.
He is not alone. Thousands of Pakistanis working as blue-collar workers in the UAE narrated a similar experience. “I was so happy when I heard that Pakistanis living outside the country can vote. I wanted to register myself but I was told everything has to be done via the Internet. This I-Voting system is useless for me. I cannot afford to have smartphone; how can I buy a computer with Internet?” Mohammed Nawaz, a 40-year-old plumber from Sahiwal, told Arab News.
Reasoning that the system poses a lot of challenges for blue-collar workers, Muhammad Shahid Khan, vice president of the Pakistan Khyber Wing at Pakistan Association in Dubai, said that he had discussed the issues at length with the Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai, Brig. (Retd) Syed Javed Hassan, during a recent meeting.
“About 1.3 million Pakistanis live in the UAE and are the second largest expatriate community here. Majority don’t have emails and can’t register themselves. We need mass mobilization to solve the issue. Just imagine if half or even one quarter of these people cannot vote, it will be a great loss to the country’s democratic structure,” he said.
Bangash has a solution to the problem. “If the Pakistani mission or educated Pakistanis teach us how to register ourselves or help us in registration, we will be able to vote. Such initiative requires community support.” 
Zaid-ur-Rehman, a cyber-security expert working for a private company in Dubai, said that ensuring seamless operations is a major challenge too. “Online voting system is impossible without proper security and without it you will put all data at risk,” he said.
According to Rehman, authorities need to thoroughly review all systems first before they are made operational for voting purposes. “System redundancy, failure to balance traffic load... and user-distribution are the major factors to handle first. As system is online via the Internet, protection of voters’ data and network is a critical task. It would take time for such a system to cover vulnerabilities and to become mature,” Rehman said.
He observed that since the system may violate clause 94 of the Elections Act 2017 and article 226 of the constitution, it is imperative to establish whether it can guarantee secrecy of the ballot for voters, adding that the I-Voting system was vulnerable to exploitation, too.
“Nearly six million citizens living abroad are eligible voters. The huge number of voters has the potential to influence the outcome of the elections and — in case of a system hack — will have adverse effect on the “formation and composition of the next government,” he said.
Brig. (Retd) Hassan said that he accepted the fact that several expatriates, specifically blue-collar workers, were facing issues with the online system, adding that the consulate was doing its best to streamline the process. “Over the last few weeks, we have provided orientation to thousands of Pakistanis who are coming to the consulate about how to register for iVoting. The consulate is doing its best to create awareness and will continue to do so.”