Zubair Qureshi
Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take notice of non-compliance by the Returning Officers (ROs) about legal provisions requiring complete transparency at all stages of election results process including the preparation of provisional and consolidated results in the constituencies.
As per FAFEN observers, the ROs in 65 constituencies prohibited one or more candidates and/or their election agents from participating in the tabulation proceedings. Of these 65 constituencies, 25 are won by PMLN, 24 by PTI-backed independents, five by PPPP, four by unaffiliated independents, three by PML, and one each by IPP, BNP and PkMAP. One such constituency remains undecided.
This non-compliance has overshadowed an otherwise largely controversy-free voting and counting processes at the polling stations, says the election watchdog in a statement on Monday.
Section 92 of the Elections Act, 2017 requires the Returning Officers to prepare and announce the Provisional Consolidated Statement of the Results of the Count (Form-47) in the presence of contesting candidates, their election agents, and authorized observers as may be present, it says.
Similarly, Section 95(1) requires the Returning Officer to conduct the consolidation of the results in the presence of the contesting candidates and their election agents. Section 95(9) requires the Returning Officers to provide copies of Form-48 (Consolidated Statement of the Results of the Count Furnished by the Presiding Officers) and Form-49 (Final Consolidated Result). Section 238 also allows the accredited observers to observe the consolidation of results.
However, the ROs in 135 of 260 National Assembly constituencies did not adhere to these provisions, undermining the ECP’s efforts to maximize electoral transparency, which was generally maintained during the voting and counting processes at the polling stations. The Returning Officers did not allow FAFEN observers in 135 constituencies to observe the tabulation process –– 80 in Punjab, 23 in Sindh, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 in Balochistan and all three in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).
