Election Day was better managed and relatively peaceful: FAFEN

ISLAMABAD: The general elections on July 25 were better managed, relatively peaceful and free of any major controversy, said a preliminary report by the independent observer Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

According to the report the election campaign was long-drawn and competitive and held in an extremely polarized political environment punctuated by a few major terrorist attacks.

However, the Election Day was better managed, relatively peaceful and free of any major controversy until late night concerns emerged over the transparency of the counting process, and the subsequent slow process of announcement of provisional results prompted some political parties to reject the election results.

The report also acknowledges significant improvements in the quality of critical electoral processes that inspired greater public confidence, despite the technical issues with the Result Transmission System (RTS) set in place by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

It stated that the ECP appeared to be more assertive to improve the quality of election focusing on voter registration by increasing women enrollment, greater diligence in delimitation, and effective enforcement of campaign rules.

The electoral reforms strengthened the election framework and granted expanded powers to the ECP under the Election Act 2017 clearly led to dividends.

However, it called on the ECP to allay the concerns of major political parties over the integrity of results counting by disciplining and penalising officials and institutions found responsible for the technological failure that compromised successes in ensuring a better quality election.

It said that it does not augur well for the ECP to reject the concerns of major political parties without conducting an enquiry into the matter leading political and public protest and outcry.

Independent ROs deployed for all constituencies

According to the report, the ECP oversaw an unprecedented deployment of government employees on election duties. For the first time, the Commission deployed independent Returning Officers for all National and Provincial Assembly constituencies, which initially caused some procedural issues, such as in the finalisation of polling schemes, but were timely addressed.

As many as 811,491 personnel deputed for election duties were trained to perform functions as Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers and Polling Officers at 85,317 polling stations with 242,088 polling booths.

Furthermore, the deployment of over 371,000 armed forces personnel on election duties ensured the peaceful conduct of Election Day amid heightened threats of subversive acts following the death of more than 150 people including two election candidates in separate suicide attacks in Peshawar, DI Khan and Mastung.

Deployment of armed forces reassured voters

The reports appreciated the presence of security officers and said that with the massive deployment of armed forces alongside police and other law enforcement agencies, people felt reassured and came out to vote in large numbers.

Except for the unfortunate deaths of 31 people in a blast outside a polling station in Quetta and a killing of a political party worker in an armed clash in Swabi, the Election Day only witnessed a few minor incidents of verbal or physical brawls that were contained by the security forces.

The report further said that the voting process on Election Day generally remained smooth. FAFEN observers reported procedural irregularity at one-third of 37,001 polling stations. However, many of these irregularities may not have a material effect on the election outcome.

Voter turnout at 53.3 pct

The assessment of provisional results by FAFEN of 241 National Assembly constituencies placed the voter turnout at 53.3 percent. The highest turnout of voters was in Punjab, where 59 percent of registered voters went to the polls in 127 National Assembly constituencies.

In all three National Assembly constituencies in Islamabad the turnout was 58.2 percent, followed by 47.7 percent in 52 NA constituencies in Sindh, 43.6 percent in 50 NA constituencies in KP, and 39.6 percent in nine NA constituencies in Balochistan.

The male turnout in these 241 constituencies was 58.3 percent, more than 10 percent higher than the female turnout that remained 47 percent.

There were 49.48 million voters in these 241 constituencies who exercised their right to vote as against 46.9 million who voted in 2013. The turnout may vary slightly when the ECP provides the final consolidated results of all 270 constituencies.

The report also noted that interestingly 35 NA constituencies with a close race has rejected votes greater than the margin of victory – 24 in Punjab, six in KP, four in Sindh and one in Balochistan.

There are at least two National Assembly constituencies where, according to the provisional result, the women’s voter turnout was below 10 percent of the polled votes – NA-10 (Shangla) and NA-48 (North Waziristan Agency).

The ECP has the power to declare the elections null and void and conduct a re-poll in one or more polling stations or the entire constituency where turnout is lower than ten percent.

People have many reasons to be proud of these elections

The general elections 2018 represent a critical moment for democracy in Pakistan as the second transition from one full-term civilian government to another. Therefore, the people of Pakistan have many reasons to be proud of these elections.

According to the preliminary findings, the Election Day was better managed and the scale of procedural irregularities during the voting process was relatively low. It noted that all polling personnel were present before the start of the voting process at 37,001 polling stations on election day.

Expressing satisfaction over the electoral process, it said that security forces personnel were observed to be performing their responsibilities inside and outside more than 35,000 polling stations.

Only eligible voters assigned to the polling stations were being allowed to enter by police, who were either checking voters’ National Identity Cards (NICs) or chits issued by political parties.

At 34,701 polling stations, voters were being frisked before being allowed to enter. However, voters were allowed to carry their mobile phones inside at 3,669 polling stations in violation of clear instructions.

The polling was conducted uninterrupted at the majority of polling stations, with reports from 1,450 polling stations that the process was chaotic due to overcrowding and slow processing of voters.

A majority of such cases were reported from 815 polling stations in 133 constituencies in Punjab, while at another 1,690 polling stations, voting was interrupted due to breaks primarily for prayers and food.

Polling agents adhered to allow only voters with original NIC

Eligible voters were allowed to vote in almost all polling stations observed except for 344 polling stations where registered voters being turned away despite having their NICs.

Polling staff strictly adhered to the legal requirement of allowing only those voters to cast their ballot who were in possession of their original NIC.

As a result of improved training of election officials conducted by the ECP, the procedural irregularities in ballot processing appear to have reduced as compared to previous elections.

It stated the ECP has taken extraordinary measures over the last few years to address the concerns of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) particularly under the aegis of Gender and Disability Working Group.

The new law also includes specific provisions to enhance electoral and political participation of PWDs alongside other marginalized groups including minorities, transgender persons and women.

PWDs are allowed the facility of postal ballot, and polling staff are required to allow them a companion of their choice to escort them behind the secrecy screen to help them mark their ballot, provided the companion have their original NIC, but the requirement was violated at 1,403 polling stations.

There were some instances of PWDs not allowed to seek help from a companion of their choice behind the secrecy screen, and complaints of unauthorised people escorting able voters at 2,370 polling stations.

Although at a much smaller scale, instances of polling agents marking ballot papers in place of voters were observed at 209 polling stations. It called on penalising polling staff and using CCTV footage to identify the responsible for such irregularities.

The security personnel were observed at 1,335 polling stations attempting to stop polling agents from any irregularity instead of informing the residing Officers as required by their code of conduct.

However, such practices were reported from a small fraction of the polling stations observed and indicate the need for greater investments in the training of security staff.

It also stated that ECP allowed political parties to set up their camps beyond a radius of 100 meters outside polling stations, there was strict prohibition on taking campaign material of political parties inside any polling station.