WE felicitate the successful completion of voter list with photographs by the Election Commission (EC), and while we do so we take special note that the enormous task, first of its kind, has been completed in only 11 months' time. And on this occasion we must make a special mention that but for the country's armed forces this highly demanding work could not have been accomplished. It is indeed a feat that deserves praise and we should all come forward to express it without any hesitation.

Notwithstanding the constraints in terms of men and materials, the members of the EC and the armed forces involved with the work have been able to register 80 million 500 thousand and 723 voters all across the country. They had to travel on rough lands and forests, including some areas that required extra efforts to access. We are sure it would not have been possible without the unflinching determination of the government, the EC and the armed forces.

Undoubtedly, the current voter list is a priceless gift to the nation, as it is the backbone of national ID card that is being prepared for each and every citizen. The work has been done, quite painstakingly we understand, on the basis of an authentic database that would come of use in the future. We are aware of the flawed voter list that was prepared by those who were at the helm of affairs during the rule of the last political government, and on the basis of which the national elections were to be held. The attempt to organise elections with the help of the fraudulent voter list constitutes a shameful chapter in our national history. The present caretaker government had taken a bold stand on the issue and did the right thing by throwing it in the trash can.

We strongly feel that by providing IT training and engaging nearly 100,000 people in the preparation of the voter list the authorities concerned have laid a strong foundation to creating more IT experts for the country. It is, in fact, a quantum leap in human resource development and the trained personnel could be engaged in similar tasks at the national level. We once again congratulate the entire team for the good work.