ISLAMABAD: The Network of Free and Fair Elections (Fafen) has pointed out procedural irregularities in Thursday's partial elections held for PS-11 constituency of the Sindh Assembly (Larkana-II).
According to a Fafen report, there were also some cases of violation of voter ballot secrecy within some voting booths.
The report is based on the observation of 69 voting centers received from 21 trained observers who observed and reported directly on the electoral environment inside and outside the voting centers. They reported cases of electoral and political violence, pre-voting preparations in the polling stations and voting processes and counting within the polling stations.
Each observer spent almost an hour at each polling station in the constituency to observe the voting processes.
Fafen documented cases of improbable voting in at least one of the booths of 21 polling stations where an average of more than 33 votes per hour was cast at the time of observation.
According to Form 48, the consolidated Statement of the results of the count, provided by the presiding officers, the candidate of the Great Democratic Alliance Moazzam Ali Abbasi emerged winner in 17 of these polling stations compared to four of those polling stations where the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP) The candidate Jamil Soomro obtained the majority of the votes.
The report is based on the observation of 69 polling stations received from 21 observers
The improbable voting pattern was calculated on the basis of the estimated time required to complete the voting process, from the appearance of a voter before the voting officer until his actual voting, it is 108 seconds or 1 minute and 48 seconds.
Fafen observers also reported cases of violation of voter ballot secrecy within polling stations, indicating problems with the management of polling stations. Of 230 voting booths observed, 18 cases of secrecy violation were observed in most of the booths. The violation of secrecy was due to multiple reasons, including the creation of secret screens in a way that is not consistent with the guidelines provided by the Electoral Commission of Pakistan (ECP), voters accompanied by other people behind the secret screens , voters queuing too close to the secret screen waiting for their turn to vote.
Equally worrying was the observation that CCTV cameras in up to 31 polling stations were installed so that they could compromise voter secrecy guaranteed by the constitution and the law, according to the report.
The authorized voting agents, legally authorized to witness the voting process and object to any irregularities, sat properly in the majority (213 or 93 percent) of the observed polling stations and were able to see the entire voting process. However, the seating arrangements for voting agents at the remaining 17 voting tables (7 pieces) did not allow them to clearly see the voting process.
Despite a competitive campaign that preceded the partial elections, electoral participation remained 39{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5}, 2{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} less than the participation registered during the 2018 general elections.
According to Fafen observers, security personnel were seen to perform their tasks outside of all observed polling stations and within more than 95 polling stations. Security personnel generally followed the guidelines provided by the ECP in their code of conduct, except in five voting centers where they allowed voters to carry their phones inside the voting centers.
Fafen observed the presence of party camps outside 62 of 69 polling stations on election day. In 15 party camps, the presence of armed persons was observed. Although the electoral law clearly prohibits candidates and their supporters from transporting voters on election day, Fafen observers reported this illegality from outside 50 of the observed polling stations. In addition, election officials did not remove materials from the party campaign within four polling stations.
Observers also reported three incidents at so many polling stations where electoral personnel did not allow a disabled voter to seek help from a person of their choice to cast the vote. A total of 51 of the polling stations observed lacked adequate ramp facilities for wheelchair voters.
At four polling stations, six instances of people who accompanied a voter behind the secret screen were observed. Seven instances were observed in two polling stations where voting personnel were found to influence voters by pointing to a specific candidate or party.
In addition, 21 cases of voting personnel were notified asking voters about their voting election in four voting centers. Nine instances of electoral agents influencing voters were noted by pointing to a specific candidate or party at three polling stations, while 36 instances of electoral agents asking voters about their voting election were observed at four polling stations.
Fafen also observed the counting process at 14 polling stations. At a polling station, the PPP voting agent refused to sign the Counting Result (Form-45).
Posted on Dawn, October 20, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1511891/fafen-finds-procedural-irregularities-in-larkana-by-poll