No poll observers for FATA and Balochistan: EU

Mission chief claims this will not stop evaluation process.

ISLAMABAD:

The European Union Election Observation Mission that arrived in the capital on Sunday announced that they will not be sending observers to Fata  and Balochistan due to security concerns.

Addressing a press conference Michael Gahler, the chief observer of the mission and a member of the European Parliament, said that the observers will be present and active in three provinces: Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as Islamabad.  “While we want to be in all parts of the country, we cannot be,” he added.

Gahler said the EU observers will not be deployed in tribal regions and Balochistan partly because of the limited numbers of observers and partly because of security concerns there. However, he claimed this will not stop the evaluation process.

Gahler said the mission only needed to collect samples to compile a recommendation report and, although Fata  and Balochistan were not included, the mission will still manage to gather 193 out of 272 samples which is good enough for their purposes. Moreover, although the observers will not be on ground seeing things directly, the events in these areas will still be followed.



Gahler said the mission will be meeting key stakeholders such as the interim government, political parties, mediapersons and members of civil society and made it clear that their meetings with the military are only to discuss security protocol and not because the military might have a political role in the process.

“We know that the conditions here are difficult for contesting elections and also for observing, in particular with regard to security. We are committed to trying to do the best job that we can in these circumstances,” said Gahler.

On an invitation extended by Pakistan’s foreign ministry, the mission is deployed till the election day. The mission’s expenses of 5.2 million euros are being borne by European taxpayers. The team consists of 11 experts and analysts who monitor the election administration, legal framework, political situation and media coverage. A human rights expert will evaluate the participation of citizens, focusing particularly on women and disadvantaged groups.

The mission’s primary role is to provide an independent neutral assessment of the election process and to make recommendations for future election reform. “No election is perfect, so it is necessary to look at what to develop so that future elections are improved and there is more chance for democratic governance to be strengthened,” said Gahler.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2013.