All major Stakeholders including General public , Political parties, Media, and Civil Societies to give Suggestions for the Electoral Reforms. Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad, Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan.
Islamabad, 27th February, 2008: Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad has invited to all major stakeholders including general public , political parties, media, and civil societies to give suggestions for the electoral reforms to bring Pakistan at par with the first World Democracies.
In a symposium on “ evalution of Election process” organized by Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad further said that, the General Elections 2008 is not only an historical landmark for the Election Commission but also a great achievement of the Pakistani Nation. I am sure that all the main stream political parties shall be satisfied and happy with the arrangements made by the Election Commission of Pakistan for the conduct of February 18th 2008 Elections.
He said that, the Media has played a very crucial and positive role in the whole electoral process and not only gave unbiased coverage of the polling day but also motivated people to come out and elect their representatives. These Elections have laid a foundation for the true and strong democracy for this country and I have no hesitation to say that the history has been written for a Progressive, Democratic and Prosper Pakistan.
He said, The International Media, Civil Society and Political representatives appreciated the fair and peaceful conduct of Elections.
Commonwealth Secretary General Mr. Don McKinnon has also congratulated Pakistan on the conduct of peaceful elections; in his statement he said that, “These elections are an important step in Pakistan’s journey towards full democracy; people of Pakistan have spoken and their voice must be heard and respected. Although the run up to the elections was marred by serious act of violence, of which the most shocking was the assassination of Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto, it is a relief that polling day itself was reasonably peaceful”.
The Secretary General further reiterated that Pakistan is important to the Commonwealth and we look forward to it once again playing its full role in the association once democracy is fully restored.
International and Local Election Observers were facilitated by ECP to monitor elections throughout Pakistan. Free and Fair Elections Network (FAFEN) has acknowledged in their press release that the
Election Commission of Pakistan extended their full cooperation to FAFEN to help ensure that the maximum number of observers would be accredited. FAFEN and Human Rights Society of Pakistan congratulated ECP for holding free and fair elections in a peaceful manner.
Human Rights Society of Pakistan (HRSP) said that their observers found that the election staff on duty was vigilant and neutral and performed their duties to the satisfaction of the candidates, their agents and voters. HRSP report further says that empty transparent ballot boxes were shown to the polling agents before the start of polling and were duly sealed in the presence of HRSP observers. In spite of the apprehensions of the possible disorder in the wake of various reports, the turnout was found to be substantially good.
British High Commissioner Mr. Robert Brinkley has said that he was very surprised by the enthusiasm of the voters, where numerous men and women were queuing up to vote despite the fears of security situation. He commented that the election was competitive and the polling had increased public confidence. EU Election Observers concluded that the election was overall a fair reflection of the view of the people and that is the most important thing.
Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan further added that, Significant women’s participation in election was a concrete step towards creating overall gender equality in politics. This time women have secured not only the reserved seats but also contested and won general seats to reach Parliament. On an average 75% of political parties have supported their women candidates in election campaigning by helping them in arranging and supporting election activities
He said, The Election Commission of Pakistan with the assistance of UNDP and USAID used modern electoral commodities and adopted internationally practiced techniques for the training of polling personals including the ROs and DROs; ECP engaged the Civil Society Organizations to create awareness amongst the masses about the electoral processes and importance of democracy; various sessions were conducted by the NGOs in partnership with ECP on voter education. This resulted in the increase of the voter turnout as compared to the Year 2002 Elections.
He said that, all the major stakeholders including general public, political parties, media and civil society organizations appreciated the positive steps of ECP including availability of voters list, details of polling stations, information material for observers, guidelines and election processes related materials and election complaint data on its website.
Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad further added that, our Electoral Laws are based on 1911 Electoral Laws prepared by Lord Minto. India and Bangladesh have already made number of reforms according to their needs. We should also start working on these reforms in close coordination with CSOs, Political Parties, Pakistan Bar Council, Pakistan Law Commission and Media.
He said, Nazims play a vital and pivotal role in the development of basic infrastructure for the local communities. Nazim system has evolved through the devolution of power process through Local Government Ordinance 2001. However reforms are required in the Electoral Laws to restrict the Nazims to refrain from influencing the Electoral Process especially during the conduct of elections. Role of Nazims during the present elections has been widely criticized both at the local and international levels.