Suspicious voting patterns, violence and police presence in PP-243 and PP-245 by-elections

Preliminary Report of PP-243 and 245 By-Election Observations

ISLAMABAD, May 7, 2012: Incidents of violence, heavy presence of police inside and outside polling stations, restrictions on FAFEN observation, suspicious voting patterns underlined the by-elections in PP-243 and PP-245 in Dera Ghazi Khan on Monday, said Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Preliminary By-Election Observation Report.

The two Punjab Assembly seats fell vacant due to the resignations of PML-Q legislator Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari and PMLN’s Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa after they were elected as Senators in March this year.

As many as 134,856 voters are registered in PP-243 Dera Ghazi Khan-IV – 81,203 male and 53,653 female, while, a total of 130,877 voters are registered in PP-245 Dera Ghazi Khan- VI – 77, 492 male and 53,385 female.  In comparison to the 150,193 voters in PP-243 and 167,595 voters in PP-245 listed on the electoral roll used for the General Elections in 2008, a total of 15,337 in PP-243 and 36,718 in PP-245 less voters appeared on the voter list used for this by-election.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had set up 102 polling stations in PP-243 – eight male and eight female and 86 combined polling stations. A total of 122 polling stations were set up in PP-245 – 13 male, 13 female and 96 combined polling stations.

FAFEN deployed 22 trained observers in PP-243 and 25 in PP-245 on Election Day to monitor more than 90 percent of the polling stations set up in the constituencies. Observers spent between 45 and 60 minutes in each polling station to document their observations and findings on a standardized checklist based on the provisions of the Representation of the Peoples Act 1976, Conduct of Elections Rules 1977, and instructional handbooks that the ECP has provided to election officials. This preliminary report is based on observation of 84 polling stations each of PP-243 and PP-245. Some of FAFEN’s key findings include:

1. Suspicious Voting Patterns

At thirteen polling stations – four in PP-243 and nine in PP-245 – FAFEN observers recorded suspicious voting pattern. If the polling is most efficient and each voter is taking approximately a minute and 30 seconds for processing (checking of name, checking of CNIC, issuance of ballot paper, going behind secrecy screen, stamping a ballot and returning of stamp to the assistant presiding officer), there can be approximately 45 votes that can be cast in an hour at a booth. However, the rate of voting was slightly higher than possible at one booth of polling station listed below. The following table gives booth-wise average of polled votes per hour. An average higher than 45 brings into question the speed with which the voters were being processed.

2. Voter Turnout

According to FAFEN observers reporting from 19 randomly sampled polling stations of PP-243, the turnout was 35%, which is lower than the turnout in the general election. While in PP-245, the turnout remained 32% reported from 18 randomly selected polling stations.

3. Fraudulent Voting

At 10 polling stations of PP-243 and three polling stations of PP-245 ballot papers were issued without filling the counterfoils, indicating the possibility of fraudulent votes being stuffed in ballot boxes. Similarly, FAFEN observers reported from seven polling stations of PP-243 that the numbers of Computerized National Identity Cards of voters as written on the counterfoils of the ballot books did not match the corresponding entries on the electoral rolls, again raising the possibility that fraudulent voting might have taken place. At 13 polling stations of PP-243 and 11 polling stations of PP-245, dubious thumb impressions marked on counterfoils of ballot books at the same angle with phasing out ink print were observed. In the case of genuine voters, each thumb impression is marked in fresh, dark ink and may be at varying angles. Additional counterfoils have been filled on the ballot box at 22 polling stations at PP-243.

4. Unauthorized Persons inside Polling Stations

At 60 polling stations of PP-243 Dear Ghazi Khan – IV and 68 polling stations of PP-245 Dera Ghazi Khan – VI, police were present inside polling stations. Under electoral rules, even at sensitive polling stations, police are only authorized to maintain order outside polling stations to ensure smooth polling. They can only enter polling stations or booths when requested by the presiding officer. Frontier Constabulary/Rangers was present inside three polling stations of PP-245.

FAFEN observer reports indicate the presence of party symbol/badge holders, people who have already voted, local influential persons and candidates with bodyguards inside six, three, two and two polling stations, respectively, in PP-243 while in PP-245 party symbol/badge holders, people who have already voted, local influential persons and government officials inside 11, four, four and three polling stations respectively.

Instances were reported where some of these unauthorized persons attempted to persuade voters to vote in favor of a political party or candidate. Polling officials at one polling station of PP-243, local influential persons at four polling stations of PP-243 and four polling stations of PP-245, candidates and their workers at four polling stations of PP-243 and three polling stations of PP-245 and political party leaders or their workers at four polling stations of PP-243 and three polling station of PP-245 were involved in such illegal practices. Polling agents were going behind the secrecy screens at three polling stations in PP-243 and three polling stations in PP-245 while other people were also going behind at one polling station of PP-243 to help the voters

Observers at five polling stations witnessed that unauthorized persons were attempting to influence the election officials at PP-243 and four polling stations in PP-245. This included local influential persons at two polling stations of PP-243, candidate or its workers at one polling station of PP-243 and three polling stations at PP-245, political party leaders or their workers at two polling stations in PP-243 and one polling station of PP-245.

Similarly, efforts to influence the police were made by political party leaders or their workers at one polling station each of PP-243 and PP-245, federal minister at one polling of PP-245, local influential leader and candidate or his workers at one polling station each in PP-243.

5. Campaigning and Canvassing around Polling Stations

FAFEN observers reported from 67 polling stations in PP-243 Dera Ghazi Khan–IV and 73 in PP-245 Dera Ghazi Khan–VI that the workers of contesting candidates were campaigning and canvassing in violation of election laws that bar the same within 400 yards of polling stations.

6. Partisan Election Officials and Breach of Right to Secret Voting

FAFEN observers reported from five polling stations in PP- 243 Dera Ghazi Khan – IV and three in PP-245 Dera Ghazi Khan–VI that unauthorized persons were stamping ballots on behalf of voters. This included polling station officials, polling agents and other unauthorized persons.

Instances of breach of right to secret voting were observed at three polling stations of PP- 243 Dera Ghazi Khan – IV where polling agents were going behind the voting screen to assist voters. In PP-245 Dera Ghazi Khan – VI, FAFEN observers did not see any secrecy screens for stamping ballots, and the voters were casting their votes in front of the presiding officers.

Many of the procedural irregularities especially the presence of unauthorized personnel inside polling stations, including security officials, may just be due to lack of training of election staff, who are generally not clear of their authority under the election laws.

7. Violence

FAFEN observers reported incidents of violence from two polling stations of PP-243 where the workers of contesting candidates clashed.

At PS- 100, the observers reported that armed supporters of PML-N candidate visited the facility and cast ballots (book no 1360) in favor of their candidate. In the same constituency, at PS- 98, workers of the PML-N and PML-Q candidates clashed with each other and as a result 15 people sustained injuries while the polling process remained suspended for 90 minutes.

In PP-245 Dera Ghazi Khan – VI, the polling process remained suspended at three polling stations – PS- 83, 100 and 119. Polling remained suspended due to clashes between the polling agents of the contesting candidates.  The polling was halted for 10 minutes each at PS 83 and PS 100 while at PS 119 it was suspended for two hours.

8. Interference with FAFEN Observers

FAFEN observers were stopped from observing the voting process at three polling stations (PS – 22, 23 and 49) in PP-243 Dera Ghazi Khan-IV by either the presiding officers or the security officials.  The ECP allows its accredited observers to monitor all stages of the election, including the opening of polling stations, voting and the counting process.

FAFEN Recommendations

Having observed the aforementioned irregularities during the by-election, FAFEN recommends:

1. The ECP should ensure that security officials perform only their designated duty of maintaining law and order outside of polling stations and do not attempt to manage election officials.
2. The ECP should take disciplinary action against polling station officials who interfered with and influenced the voting process.
3. The ECP should reprimand all election officials who failed to enforce the election rules and laws.
4. The ECP and all provincial, district, and local election officials should administer each by-election with the same vigilance and attention to enforcing the law and procedures as during any general election. The result of any by-election not administered vigilantly should be voided.
5. To eliminate unauthorized people from being in polling stations:
   • Presiding Officers should be encouraged and provided adequate protections to use their magisterial powers.
   • All polling officials must be required to carry their Government Service Cards to prove their identity on Election Day.
   • Polling officials should ensure that only one polling agent representing each political party – and carrying proper identification from their party – is permitted in each polling booth.
   • Only people carrying proper identifications should be permitted inside polling stations and allowed to vote.
   • Adequate security checks should be performed in order to prevent unauthorized and armed persons in and around polling stations.
   • All polling officials must be required to carry their Government Service Cards to prove their identity on Election Day.
6. Adequate training of all polling officials must be ensured for all by-elections.
7. Polling officials should ensure that all campaign materials and camps are removed from around the polling stations.
8. More generally, given the consistent weaknesses in ECP by-election administration, by-elections should be minimized by restricting each candidate in general elections to contesting in only one constituency.