Joint International EOM Report on 2013 General Elections in Pakistan

This report is offered by the joint international election observation mission of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL). The mission consisted of 48 observers from 18 countries. NDI-ANFREL observers arrived in Pakistan on April 26 and stayed in country through May 22. On election day, observers were deployed to 12 locations in Islamabad and three of the nation’s four provinces, visiting more than 250 polling locations. Security concerns prevented direct observation in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). However, the mission was in frequent contact with candidates, parties and nongovernmental organizations in those areas to follow election-related developments that were not directly accessible to the delegation. Pakistan’s May 11th general elections consisted of 272 distinct contests in separate constituencies for general seats in the National Assembly and 577 contests for general seats in the Provincial Assemblies of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh (as well as contests for 60 seats reserved for women and 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims in the National Assembly, and 128 seats reserved for women, and 23 seats reserved for non-Muslims in the Provincial Assemblies). These elections unfolded differently in various parts of the country.

The 2013 elections were a critical step in continuing the nation’s return to democracy, which began five years ago. Millions of Pakistanis expressed their support for the democratic process by voting despite extremist attempts to disrupt the polls. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), more than 46 million citizens exercised their right to vote in the elections, constituting a voter turnout of around 55 percent. Voters’ courage and resolve in casting their ballots despite the mounting violence was a victory for democracy and the people of Pakistan. The seating of the new National Assembly on June 1 and formation of a national government by the Pakistan Muslim League—Nawaz (PML-N) represented the first transfer of power from one democratically elected government to the next in Pakistan. The elections and subsequent transfer of power have set the stage for upcoming events that could have sizeable impacts on the country’s continued democratic development, including indirect presidential elections and the retirement and replacement of the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, all of which are scheduled to take place in 2013.

The 2013 elections benefited from a number of positive aspects, including an improved legal framework, increased competition among parties and candidates, high turnout and voter enthusiasm, and more effective and independent election administration. However, continued election reform efforts are needed in a number of areas, as the political violence negatively impacted the elections in several areas of the country, and shortcomings were observed in election day procedures, women’s political participation, and the post-election environment. Upcoming by-elections present immediate opportunities to improve the administration and security of elections in Pakistan, and the subsequent local elections in the provinces offer further possibilities for election reform.

The main observations and findings of the NDI-ANFREL international election observation mission to Pakistan are detailed below. These items do not take into account certain developments in the post-election environment that occurred following the mission’s departure from Pakistan on May 22, including ongoing challenges to election results, re-polling and recounting in certain constituencies, and planning for by-elections in constituencies where the elections were not held or where winning candidates resigned seats due to victories in multiple constituencies.

Unprecedented levels of election-related violence created an unlevel playing field for some parties in certain areas of the country. In the year leading up to the elections, political violence plagued several parts of the country, notably Balochistan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. While many parties and their candidates were victimized, the Pakistani Taliban specifically targeted three parties — the Awami National Party (ANP), the Muttahida Quami movement (MQM), and the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) — all parties of the outgoing government. The violence curtailed voters in some areas from hearing the messages of these parties and could have adversely affected the integrity of the elections in certain constituencies in Balochistan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and FATA. Political violence continued in the post-election environment, including the killing of an elected provincial assembly member, though the level of violence decreased markedly.

The elections were characterized by active competition among several national and regionally-based parties, including newly prominent contestants and a number of parties that had boycotted the 2008 elections. The diversity of views and platforms presented by these parties and candidates offered voters distinct choices in the elections. Thousands of citizens exercised their right to contest as candidates and the campaign was vigorous in most parts of the country, though campaign events were severely restricted in areas where political violence was prevalent. A number of political parties that boycotted in 2008 chose to contest the 2013 elections, including Balochistan National Party—Mengal (BNP-M), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), National Party (NP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Additionally, as a result of extending the Political Parties Order to FATA, political parties fielded candidates in the region for the first time.

The elections took place under an improved legal and regulatory framework, which resulted from high levels of cooperation among political parties and meaningful consultative outreach by the ECP, but further reform is needed. The ambitious electoral reform process started after the 2008 elections resulted in three important amendments to the Constitution that bolstered the independence and neutrality of the Election Commission and established a framework for designating national and provincial caretaker governments. Reforms also led to the removal of education requirements for candidates and issuance of five separate administrative codes of conduct for political parties and candidates, observers, polling personnel, media, and security personnel. However, several important issues were insufficiently addressed, including the electoral dispute resolution system, candidate scrutiny process, gender equality measures, rules for observers, campaign finance, and results compilation and consolidation mechanisms, among others.

The elections represented a missed opportunity for increasing women’s representation in the National and Provincial Assemblies and meaningfully strengthening women’s political participation in Pakistan more broadly, though limited progress occurred in certain areas. Women remain grossly underrepresented in all aspects of the electoral process, including as candidates, election administrators, and voters. While more than twice as many women candidates contested the 2013 elections than in 2008, their numbers remained extremely low, representing only 2.9 percent of the total number of candidates contesting for general seats, and only 17 were elected, a decrease of 8 from 2008. No women serve on the Election Commission or as officers of the ECP, and less than 2 percent of its staff members and less than 2 percent of District Returning Officers (DROs), Returning Officers (ROs), and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) are women. While some positive efforts to increase voter registration of women took place in advance of the 2013 elections, women represented only 44 percent of registered voters on the final electoral rolls. Regrettably, by the time of this report’s publication, the ECP has yet to release turnout data disaggregated by gender, a key commitment it made in order to identify and address low levels of women’s participation. Media and civic groups reported that the practice of local leaders colluding to prohibit women from voting continued to occur in the 2013 elections in a number of constituencies in FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab. The ECP preliminarily reported that some 500 polling stations had zero women’s turnout, and that women’s turnout nationwide was around 44 percent.

The elections provided an opportunity for Pakistan’s large youth population to engage in Pakistan’s democratic process. Sizeable numbers of young Pakistanis took advantage of the opportunity and political contestants actively sought their support, in part through the extensive use of social media. At the time of the 2013 elections, Pakistanis under the age of 35 made up approximately 60 percent of the entire population and represented 48 percent of those registered to vote — and these figures are expected to continue rising. Political parties and candidates actively sought to engage youth in their election campaigns and specifically targeted young voters in their electoral appeals and policy prescriptions, and through the extensive use of social media and text messaging. Representatives of political parties and youth-focused civic groups reported to NDIANFREL observers that opportunities for youth political participation were greater during the 2013 elections than at any other time in Pakistan’s history.

Considerable improvements to the accuracy of the electoral rolls significantly enhanced the integrity of the elections, though voter registration among women remains disproportionately low. In cooperation with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), the ECP considerably improved the accuracy of the electoral rolls in advance of the 2013 elections by linking voter registration to the possession of a Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC). More than 37.2 million unverified voters were eliminated from the rolls and more than 36.7 million were added through the initial process. Building on the new system, the ECP established a program through which citizens could check their voting registration status, electoral area, and, as of May 6, polling station location, via text message using their CNIC numbers. The service was widely used in the pre-election period and on election day itself. While the CNIC-based system had many positive aspects, the possession of CNICs is disproportionately low among women, whose voter registration levels remain low, representing only 44 percent of voters on the electoral rolls.

Most aspects of election day were assessed positively by NDI-ANFREL observers, though administrative problems were noted in polling stations throughout the country and there were allegations of irregularities in several areas where NDIANFREL observers did not visit. NDI-ANFREL observers reported a calm and peaceful environment at most polling stations, noting much enthusiasm among voters, as reflected in the 55 percent national turnout. This was a remarkable achievement in light of the frequent and well-publicized security threats in many parts of the country. Voting was generally well-conducted and the secrecy of the ballot was largely respected. The process benefited from greatly improved electoral rolls and the widespread use of a text message-based system that allowed voters to verify their polling locations. However, NDI-ANFREL observers reported a number of administrative problems, including inadequate facilities, long lines, and overcrowding; voters having difficulty finding their names on the electoral rolls; and partisan polling agents performing election administration duties. While these administrative problems did not seriously impair the integrity of the elections, they could be damaging in future elections if allowed to persist. Allegations of more egregious election day irregularities, such as ballot box stuffing, polling station capture, violence in polling stations, and manipulation of results, were prevalent in certain parts of the country and in some cases resulted in ECP-mandated re-polling.

The post-election period experienced shortcomings in a number of areas, including results management, transparency, and electoral dispute resolution. These shortcomings, coupled with allegations of election day irregularities, have weakened the credibility of the elections in the eyes of certain contestants and civic groups, as they have insufficient means to independently verify election results and seek redress for their grievances. The ECP’s new computerized Results Management System (RMS) was not fully utilized to process preliminary results, as ROs used diverging systems for reporting results to the ECP. The announcement of preliminary results from certain constituencies, including many in Balochistan, experienced significant delays. On June 11, responding to observers’ and parties’ requests, the ECP announced that it had instructed ROs to provide polling station- and constituency-level results information to interested individuals upon request. While a positive step that strengthened the transparency of the elections, polling agents and observers were unable to verify that the counting and reconciliation figures they received on election day were accurately reflected in preliminary and final results for an entire month after election day, and RO compliance with the ECP instructions remains unclear. Electoral dispute resolution in the post-election environment also suffered from inadequate transparency, as there is no centralized mechanism for tracking and publicizing complaints and decisions on complaints, and the delayed establishment of election tribunals, which were not established until June 3. Despite these shortcomings, election administrators appeared to work to address certain problems, as re-polling and re-counting was ordered in several constituencies, though the justifications for these decisions were unclear and the decisionmaking processes were not transparent.

This report was produced by National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and
the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) 2013.

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