Kohistan By-Elections: ECP urged to ensure women’s access to by-polls

Non-governmental organisation urged ECP to ensure that women are not barred from voting, as reported in media reports.

The informal agreement between candidates in the upcoming by-election in Kohistan that women will not be allowed to vote is unconstitutional, violates the election laws and international legal obligations. This was said by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) in a press release issued in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The non-governmental organisation urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure that women are not barred from voting, as reported in media reports.

Pakistan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2010 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1996.  These legal agreements obligate the government, including the ECP, to take all measures necessary to ensure that women’s right to vote can be implemented in practice throughout the country, including Kohistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2011.