Keeping watch: 43,000 volunteers to ‘observe’ elections

FAFEN, ACE to mobilise masses to cast their vote, especially women voters.

PESHAWAR: Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen), in collaboration with the Association for Creation of Employment (ACE), will deploy 43,000 volunteers around the country to observe the upcoming general elections.

Speaking to candidates of NA-4 Peshawar at the Peshawar Press Club, ACE programme manager Zubair Ambia said the process of observation will be carried out in three stages – observation before the elections, on Election Day and after the elections.



He said besides this, ACE and Fafen would mobilise the masses, especially women, to cast their vote. “In 2008, not a single woman came out to vote even though there were 50 polling stations set up only for female voters,” said Ambia, stressing on the need for women to come out of their houses and use their right. “We will organise door-to-door campaigns to pursue all families to allow their women to vote.”

After supervising elections, Ambia said they will observe whether the victorious candidates were following their manifestoes, and then publish a report.

All 13 candidates from NA-4 were invited at the forum to educate participants about the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) code of conduct. However, only four candidates – Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan’s Miraj-Ud-Din, Rah-e-Haq’s Gul Wazir and independent candidates Shaukat Mohmand and Syed Hafz-e-Ameen attended.

Candidates presented their manifestoes and at the same time asked ECP to take notice of excessive spending of some parties for their election campaigns.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2013.