European Union Election Observation Mission 2013 General Elections Report
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) issued three short statements on Election Day, May 11, 2013, and a preliminary statement and report the day after the elections. The following report includes additional analysis of summary data received from more than 40,000 observers across the country.
The ten themes in this report include voter turnout, barriers to women’s voting, irregularities in polling stations during voting and counting procedures, and weak election results management. The report also includes sections on last-minute changes in polling schemes; pre-election violence, government interference and Code of Conduct violations; and constituency delimitations.
The following analysis is still preliminary and does not represent FAFEN’s final analysis, which will be based on aggregation of comprehensive checklists filled by hand on Election Day in a statisticallyvalid random sample of 9,160 polling stations by more than 25,000 static observers and about 15,000 additional mobile observers each visiting 2-4 polling stations.
FAFEN’s final analysis will also depend on the extent to which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) transparently releases official forms from all 69,801 polling stations and all 272 National Assembly (NA) constituencies around the country, as urged by both FAFEN and the European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) in public statements. Following are the key findings;
a) Voter Turnout
General Election 2013 witnessed voter turnout that was considerably higher than elections held previously in the country since 1985. Analysis of unofficial results of 263 out of 272 NA constituencies suggests that 53.4% of registered voters nationally turned out to vote for candidates contesting NA seats. However, accurate voter turnout can only be analyzed when ECP releases Form XIV (Statement of the Count), Form XV (Ballot Paper Account), Form VI (Consolidation Statement of the Results of the Count) and Form XVII (Result of the Count) for full public scrutiny.
For the first time in Pakistan, ECP introduced specific amendments to the Statement of the Count to measure the sex-disaggregated voter turnout for General Election 2013. However, according to FAFEN assessment of 264 Statements of the Count from 26 constituencies, the Presiding Officers at as many as two-thirds of polling stations did not fill out the specific sections of the form correctly, raising concern that ECP may not be able to provide accurate sex-disaggregated turnout.
b) Barriers to Women’s Voting
FAFEN observers reported a total of 15 incidents in which women were barred from voting by under implicit understanding among candidates and community leaders. Most of these cases were reported in Punjab, where 10 incidents of expressed intention of men to bar women from voting were recorded in Khanewal (4), Faisalabad (3), Sahiwal (2), and Kasur (1). In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, barring women from voting was observed in four districts, namely Peshawar, Buner, Kohat and Lower Dir. In
FATA, one such case was reported from North Waziristan Agency. No cases of women being barred from voting were reported from Balochistan or Sindh.
c) Weak Polling Station Management
Based on FAFEN’s data analysis so far, no significant improvement was witnessed in polling station management comparing General Elections in 2008 and 2013. Predictable irregularities continued,including interference in voting by polling officials and unauthorized people in polling booths and stations.
FAFEN has analyzed summary data sent on May 11 and 12, 2013, by observers deployed at 6,314 polling stations. A total of 1,492 irregularities were reported from 1,181 of the reporting polling stations. Some of these irregularities are relatively minor, but some have the potential of creating conducive environment for Election Day fraud.
These irregularities were reported from all provinces. At least 291 of these irregularities, most of which were recorded in Punjab, were related to changes in polling schemes. A high number of violent incidents (288) were also reported from across the country; however, most of these were also seen in Punjab.
FAFEN observers were restricted from carrying out their duties in 226 polling stations, while at least 106 incidences of interference by security/other officials and 123 incidents of illegal or fraudulent voting were observed.
Most importantly, the procedures for counting ballots and votes in polling stations remain chaotic and non-transparent. In particular, FAFEN is beginning to scrutinize polling station Statements of the Count (Form XIV) gathered by observers, which have errors and irregularities. These irregularities could be indications or electoral fraud, and could help identify specific recommendations for reforms in electoral procedure and training for polling officials to improve future bi-elections and general
elections.
The Statements of the Count filled by many Presiding Officers were misleading and reflective of the lack of basic training on how to complete this crucial document. In a review of the 264 Statements of the Count shared with FAFEN observers by presiding officers for 26 NA constituencies, on 86 Statements, the presiding officer did not fill properly the number of registered voters assigned to that polling station. As many as 41 Statements of the Count have an incorrect total of valid votes for each candidate with minor differences. In 114 Statements of the Count the percentage of invalid ballots was more than 3%. In 12 cases, the invalid ballots amounted to more than 10% of polled votes. In one case, invalid ballots amounted to one fourth of the total polled votes.
d) Weak Management of Election Results
All forms from all polling stations in the constituency must be carefully reviewed and, if necessary, investigated by Returning Officers openly in the presence of candidates (or their representatives) and accredited observers on election night. Data from each polling station should be added on a flipchart or board within view of these stakeholders. Both polling station forms and consolidation of election result forms must be transmitted promptly to ECP. None of these steps are currently followed
consistently or well, according to FAFEN observations.
According to FAFEN Parallel Vote Tabulations (PVTs), which are now complete in 92 (out of 272) constituencies, 89 reconcile with ECP results with the same winner and same runner up. However, the PVT results do not reconcile with the winner on three constituencies. Very narrow margins of victory in these three constituencies (NA-28, NA-171 and NA-208) make it very difficult to verify the ECP results.
The most important single step that ECP can make to ensure transparency and legitimacy of the elections is that before certifying any election results, ECP must post official documents from all polling stations and all constituencies on its website, including Form XIV (Statement of the Count), Form XV (Ballot Paper Account), Form VI (Consolidation Statement of the Results of the Count) and Form XVII (Result of the Count). These forms are the most important evidence of the quality of election administration and the validity of results in each constituency.
e) Changes in Polling Schemes
The polling schemes in three provinces – Punjab, Sindh and KP – were finalized and posted on the ECP website during the week immediately preceding elections. The scheme for Balochistan has not been posted to date. The late finalization and failure to notify the voting public and election stakeholders in Balochistan are counter to Representation of the Peoples Act (ROPA) Article 8(2).
In addition, ECP officials and/or constituency ROs apparently changed the numbers, locations and configuration of polling stations after public notification of the final polling schemes. FAFEN observers reported changes in the addresses or numbers of 255 polling stations across Pakistan, with 127 reports coming from Punjab followed by 105 from Sindh, 17 from KP and three each from FATA and KP. These last-minute changes raise doubts about the motives and accountability of these officials.
To download complete report, click here
Related posts
