Printable Version
Pakistan Election: Observations from the Field
Friday, February 29, 2008
Less than
two weeks after the historic February 18th
Pakistani elections, CNP welcomed three members
of the 38-person U.S. supported election
observation mission to share their preliminary
findings. Eric Bjornlund, co-founder and
principal of Democracy International, Scott
Lansell, senior advisor with The Pollworker
Institute and formerly with IFES, and Rachel
Kleinfeld, director of the Truman National
Security Project, discussed the various
challenges, concerns, and accomplishments of
the Pakistan elections.
A general consensus amongst the speakers was that “despite the seriously flawed pre-election environment, the elections provided a genuine opportunity for Pakistani voters to express their will.” The three members emphasized the first half of the statement, concluding that although the country is on the right path, there is still a lot of room for improvement in Pakistan’s election process that will have to be addressed by a new coalition government.
Mr. Bjornlund began the discussion by commenting on pre-election concerns including recent violence, the state of emergency, and suspension of the judiciary branch. The violence leading up the election created a climate of fear that intimidated voters and candidates, while the state of emergency put restrictions on the media, forcing them to agree to restrictive terms before they were allowed to resume activities. Because the judiciary branch resolves electoral complaints, the removal and arrest of judges seriously compromised the impartiality of the elections.
Another major concern was the voter registration process and electoral list. Although much of the information on the updated voter list was generally accepted as accurate, some argued that as many as 15 million people were not on the lists used on February 29th. In order to create a more accurate list, the election commission decided to combine the new 2007 list with the old 2002 list. They reasoned that this would catch many of the 15 million missing people. However, because the 2002 list was equally flawed, this solution was not considered successful nor was this approach recommended by various international groups offering technical assistance to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Ms. Kleinfeld provided observations from Election Day, describing the anticipated violence and the steps taken to prevent rigging. She explained how the observation team was expecting early morning violence staged to scare voters into staying home all day. This fear was apparent on the morning of February 18th, as few voters turned up. However, as the day went on with relatively low violence, more people came out - bringing voter turnout to typical levels. To prevent rigging, both government officials and party officials were present at all voting stations, checking lists and making sure ballot boxes were acceptable. Voters also had their thumbs inked to prevent multiple voting.
Finally, Mr. Lansell concluded the presentation by expanding on some issues previously mentioned with regard to the administrative processes on Election Day. He discussed the pros and cons of the party officials having such a major role at the voting stations. Although they helped election officials handle many administrative functions at the stations, the officials also had the capacity to intimidate voters by making them check in with a party agent to ascertain their correct polling booth (there were often 4-6 booths in each station divided for men and women to vote separately. In response to security concerns, there were many police or guards around stations. While these personnel may have overwhelmed voters, they did provide “a secure environment.” As is shared below, the application of the election law and process depended on the locality. The experiences in Multan, for example, differed from what observed in Peshawar.
Other important observations that the speakers made were the varying degree of women voters in different regions and the financial obstacles to voting for the poor. Women had an especially difficult time voting in the Northwest Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. In these regions there were “threats of violence for any women who came out” to vote. In other areas the heads of the family simply did not allow the women to vote. This is in stark contrast to the major cities such as Lahore, where it was very easy for women to vote- this atmosphere created terrific turnout especially with young women. A common problem, regardless of region, was the access to identification cards required to vote. Voters were able to use old IDs if they had them. However, these older IDs were made of paper and easily lost or destroyed. In order to get a new more durable ID, someone must purchase the card for about one dollar. This may be all that a poor family earns in a day, creating a huge obstacle to voting.
A general consensus amongst the speakers was that “despite the seriously flawed pre-election environment, the elections provided a genuine opportunity for Pakistani voters to express their will.” The three members emphasized the first half of the statement, concluding that although the country is on the right path, there is still a lot of room for improvement in Pakistan’s election process that will have to be addressed by a new coalition government.
Mr. Bjornlund began the discussion by commenting on pre-election concerns including recent violence, the state of emergency, and suspension of the judiciary branch. The violence leading up the election created a climate of fear that intimidated voters and candidates, while the state of emergency put restrictions on the media, forcing them to agree to restrictive terms before they were allowed to resume activities. Because the judiciary branch resolves electoral complaints, the removal and arrest of judges seriously compromised the impartiality of the elections.
Another major concern was the voter registration process and electoral list. Although much of the information on the updated voter list was generally accepted as accurate, some argued that as many as 15 million people were not on the lists used on February 29th. In order to create a more accurate list, the election commission decided to combine the new 2007 list with the old 2002 list. They reasoned that this would catch many of the 15 million missing people. However, because the 2002 list was equally flawed, this solution was not considered successful nor was this approach recommended by various international groups offering technical assistance to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Ms. Kleinfeld provided observations from Election Day, describing the anticipated violence and the steps taken to prevent rigging. She explained how the observation team was expecting early morning violence staged to scare voters into staying home all day. This fear was apparent on the morning of February 18th, as few voters turned up. However, as the day went on with relatively low violence, more people came out - bringing voter turnout to typical levels. To prevent rigging, both government officials and party officials were present at all voting stations, checking lists and making sure ballot boxes were acceptable. Voters also had their thumbs inked to prevent multiple voting.
Finally, Mr. Lansell concluded the presentation by expanding on some issues previously mentioned with regard to the administrative processes on Election Day. He discussed the pros and cons of the party officials having such a major role at the voting stations. Although they helped election officials handle many administrative functions at the stations, the officials also had the capacity to intimidate voters by making them check in with a party agent to ascertain their correct polling booth (there were often 4-6 booths in each station divided for men and women to vote separately. In response to security concerns, there were many police or guards around stations. While these personnel may have overwhelmed voters, they did provide “a secure environment.” As is shared below, the application of the election law and process depended on the locality. The experiences in Multan, for example, differed from what observed in Peshawar.
Other important observations that the speakers made were the varying degree of women voters in different regions and the financial obstacles to voting for the poor. Women had an especially difficult time voting in the Northwest Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. In these regions there were “threats of violence for any women who came out” to vote. In other areas the heads of the family simply did not allow the women to vote. This is in stark contrast to the major cities such as Lahore, where it was very easy for women to vote- this atmosphere created terrific turnout especially with young women. A common problem, regardless of region, was the access to identification cards required to vote. Voters were able to use old IDs if they had them. However, these older IDs were made of paper and easily lost or destroyed. In order to get a new more durable ID, someone must purchase the card for about one dollar. This may be all that a poor family earns in a day, creating a huge obstacle to voting.