Report on Sindh LG polls: Delay in notifying results raises questions, says Fafen

ISLAMABAD: Around 40 per cent of the registered voters turned out to vote in the first phase of the local government (LG) elections in Sindh.

However, the results of the otherwise orderly and well-managed voting and counting processes are yet to be notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), indicating lapses in this crucial aspect of electoral integrity, according to the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) Observers report on the first phase of Sindh LG polls.

According to the report, scattered incidents of localised violence, legal and procedural irregularities and overcrowding at polling stations, followed by allegations of rigging and manipulation of election results by the contending parties, need urgent attention of the ECP for improved legal and regulatory enforcement for the next phase of LG elections in Sindh as well as the overdue LG elections in Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

The report said the available Form-XI (the statement of the count) of the polling stations suggested that 42pc of the registered voters including 45pc male voters and 40pc female voters exercised their right to vote.

A general observation covering the availability of election staff and material at the booths was carried out at 1,959 polling booths, while a detailed observation covering voter identification, verification, and ballot issuance processes was conducted for 2,475 voters, who presented themselves to vote at 692 polling booths.

Security personnel were present at 90pc of the observed polling stations before the start of the polling process. During the day, these officials were observed to have been present outside 90pc of the observed polling stations, and inside 80pc of the observed polling booths.

In addition, Fafen observers witnessed CCTV cameras installed at 18pc of the polling booths. Fafen observers reported 55 incidents of violence from 48 polling stations spread across eight out of 14 districts. These incidents included an instance of armed clash and eight incidents of physical clashes.

As many as 69pc of the incidents took place inside the polling stations and 27pc outside the polling stations, while the remaining four per cent involved people both outside and inside the polling stations. According to observers, three persons were wounded in one of the incidents.

Nineteen of the incidents led to an interruption in the polling process ranging from five minutes to an hour. At one polling station, the polling had to be stopped for the entire day after an altercation over errors in ballot papers. Overcrowding inside six per cent of the observed polling stations also led to a disorderly polling process. Political workers and supporters of candidates had set up their camps in the vicinity of 70pc of the polling stations.

More than half of the camps (56pc) were observed to have been issuing vote parchis, a quarter (25pc) displaying political advertisements, and 10pc distributing campaign material such as badges, caps, stickers, etc. to incoming voters. Around 16pc of the polling camps had the presence of armed persons as well.

According to Fafen observers, ECP-provided secrecy screens were installed at 94pc polling booths of the observed polling stations. In 48pc of the 362 observed polling booths where CCTV cameras were installed, they were angled towards the area behind the secrecy screen and might have compromised the secrecy of the vote.