The decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to publicly release documentation on counting and consolidation of election results is a major step towards electoral transparency and will enhance public confidence in the electoral process, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) said in a statement on Thursday.
ECP issued a press release on June 11, 2013, stating it had instructed Returning Officers (ROs) to provide any interested member of the public, NGOs and media with certified copies of polling station vote count and ballot account forms (Forms XIV and XV) as well as constituency consolidation of election results (Forms XVI and XVII).
The step is also evidence of ECP’s responsiveness as similar demands were being made by political parties, contesting candidates, and election observation groups including FAFEN, following the May 11 general election. These forms are required in order to analyse election result in each constituency, based on the tally of the vote count in each polling station.
FAFEN is requesting certified copies of all these documents from ROs nationwide and encourages other election stakeholders to do so as well. Provincial election commissioners are responsible for ensuring that these official documents are provided “to any individual, NGOs, media and general public” who request the information.
Meanwhile, FAFEN repeated its call for ECP to post all of this information and all of these forms on the ECP’s website as it would increase accessibility of information. Moreover, the ECP has also been urged to release the finalised polling scheme that was implemented on May 11.
ECP's INSTRUCTIONS TO RELEASE CERTIFIED COPIES OF POLLING STATIONS VOTE COUNT ON DEMAND IS INSUFFICIENT. ECP IS STILL BEHAVING LIKE A STRUGGLING CHILD. THIS INFORMATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC MUCH SOONER ON THEIR WEBSITE> LET US HOPE THEY DO IT NOW WITHOUT DELAY
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