"I think the electoral roll in Pakistan is now one of the best among the Commonwealth countries,” says Sir Douglas Kidd, head of Commonwealth Observer Mission. PHOTO: FILE
As millions of Pakistanis head to the polling stations today to exercise their right to vote, the head of the Commonwealth Observer Mission has acknowledged that Pakistan has made ‘tremendous strides’ in improving its electoral system, which could now match that of any developed democracy.
“We have heard reports that the electoral roll has been much improved, which is encouraging. I think the electoral roll in Pakistan is now one of the best among the Commonwealth countries,” Sir Douglas Kidd, who is heading a 13-member Commonwealth Observer Mission, told The Express Tribune on Friday.
However, he said there were certain areas of concerns, including millions of women voters, who were still missing from the electoral rolls. “We hope in due course of time this will be taken care of,” Kidd added.
The Commonwealth team will be deployed in Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad to observe the voting and counting process. The volatile security situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and tribal regions bordering Afghanistan prevented international observers from travelling there, Kidd said.
He also raised concern over the deadly wave of militant violence against political parties – including Pakistan Peoples Party, Awami National Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement. “There is a high level of insecurity related to the polls, with some parties facing a particular threat, and the loss of life in election-related violence – notably in some areas – is of great concern,” the knighted observer added.
According to an AFP count, 127 people were killed in violence in the run-up to the historic elections. Kidd offered condolences to the families of all victims.
However, he hoped that the violence would not continue on polling day and voters would use their right of franchise in a peaceful atmosphere.
Kidd, who is a former speaker of the House of Representatives of New Zealand, said the democratic transition of power from one civilian government to another would be a key milestone in the 66-year history of Pakistan.
“It is also significant that these elections will be held under a series of new constitutional amendments which have, among other things, strengthened the ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan). We have met with the ECP and they have told us that they are ready for the polls, and we very much hope that this is the case.”
Asked if the powerful security establishment was favouring any particular political party, Kidd said he and his team did not see any apparent signs of that. “But we will make our final judgment after the polling,” he added.
The Commonwealth Observer Mission is mandated to consider all the factors impinging on the credibility of the electoral process. It will assess whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which Pakistan has committed itself.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2013.
COMMENTS (6)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1713853507-0/MalalaHilary-(2)1713853507-0-270x192.webp)
Douglas kidd; you & other observers should have inquired about what happened to that electronic voting system that was bought three years ago.Why it was not installed for this election even though the government had a lot of time to integrate it.Today is election day & i fear that i may not be able to cast my vote because of the extremely long queues in my polling station.The world's sixth most populace country is going to cast its votes through manual system even when all the other top ten most populace countries have an electronic voting system. The new government should enquire about the money that was spent on buying the E voting system & the pockets in which some of that money went.Also international observers must consider the absence of E voting system while judging the election results at the end of the day ,because it will drastically reduce the turn out as it is evident that a good no. of people wont get to vote because of the long queues.Plus absence of E voting in a country like Pakistan means that you can't trust the results. Almost all developed countries in the world now cast their votes through E voting system so how Mr.Kidd can say that Pakistan has comparable electoral system to the developed world.
"The volatile security situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and tribal regions bordering Afghanistan prevented international observers from travelling there, Kidd said."
Is not strange for showing thumb up ?
These elections are indeed freer than any Pakistan has had in the past but to describe them as being of the same standard as developed countries? There have been blasts in 3 out of 4 provincial capitals on election day. Significant portions of women are disenfranchised from the get go as can be seen from the distorted ratio of male to female registered voters, election campaign could hardly be described as free or fair when even corner meeting of selected parties were attacked while large jalsas of other parties could be held. The separate electorates for minorities are another distortion to universal adult franchise.
Anyway hope that rest of the polling can be completed without further bloodshed.good luck Pakistan.
These polls are indeed much fairer than any that Pakistan has had in the past and to that end all concerned deserve credit. To describe them as being of the same standard as polls in developed democracy is a stretch. The issues described in the article itself point to some gaps - missing female others from electoral rolls where there are only 3 female voters for every 4 male voters - the selective violence that marred the election campaign of left of center parties in 3 of the 4 provinces
In addition the fact that Ahmadis cannot vote, the fact that non-Muslims can only vote for non-Muslims and not toe for general category candidates, the arbitrary and non-transparent processes followed by returning officers in keeping some candidates out are all things that vitiate the election outcome.
Yes Pakistan has come a long way but there still is a long way to go before the elections can be described as being on par with those in developed countries.
But it should have come from Saudi Arabia, no?