ISLAMABAD: The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) said that women, minorities and other marginalised groups remained under-represented in the 2018 elections in Pakistan despite some positive legal changes, a report published in an English daily said.
The mission acknowledged that women generally came out to vote on July 25. However, it observed that women in some constituencies were either barred from polling or had low participation.
Women were reportedly restricted from voting in at least eight constituencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Punjab. However, the statutory ten per cent threshold for women in some constituencies was not reached.
Apart from women, minorities, persons with disabilities and transgender are also still largely hampered from participating in the electoral process, the mission said.
The mission said that the registration of non-Muslim voters rose by 30 per cent to 3.63 million from 2.7 million in 2013.