‘ECP to announce by-polls schedule soon’
Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan, has said that the ECP would announce the schedule for the by-elections on 30 vacant national and provincial assembly seats as well as five Senate seats following the inaugural sessions of all four provincial assemblies.
Kanwar Dilshad assured that lacunas and shortcomings in the computerised electoral rolls would be removed soon.
Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day Provincial Review Workshop, organised by the ‘Support for National Elections in Pakistan Programme’ of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) at a local hotel on Saturday, he also assured the participants that more electoral reforms would be introduced in the country.
The workshop was attended by deputy and assistant election commissioners from across Sindh.
According to him, around 30 national and provincial assemblies’ seats as well as five Senate seats are lying vacant and the schedule of bye-polls in these constituencies and seats would be announced after the formation of provincial governments in the country.
The secretary, ECP, described the February 18 general elections as a critical step in Pakistan’s history towards democratization, saying that the Election Commission has fulfilled its commitment of holding free, fair and transparent polls in the country.
Kanwar Dilshad also expressed delight over the acceptance of results and finding the elections as credible by all the political parties as well as international observers.
“These elections have laid a foundation for the true and strong democracy in Pakistan and the country will continue playing its important role for peace and progress in the region,” he added.
He observed that February 18 general elections met the basic threshold of credibility and legitimacy in the eyes of Pakistani people, adding: “Democracy is the process of self-correction as each election produces new hope, new possibilities, new trust and renewed confidence among the nation”.
The ECP also encouraged and facilitated the local and international observers to monitor the polls, he informed, saying that credible and impartial observers could strengthen the electoral process by ensuring that voters, election officials and political parties follow the established voting and vote-counting procedures.
Highlighting another salient feature of these polls, Kanwar Dilshad said that significant participation by women was a concrete step towards creating overall gender equality in politics, adding that this time women not only secured the reserved seats but also contested and won general seats to reach parliament.
“On an average, 75 percent of political parties have supported their women candidates in election campaigning by helping them arrange and support election activities,” he maintained.
Pointing out the support and assistance of international agencies, Kanwar Dilshad said that with the assistance from UNDP and USAID, the ECP used modern electoral commodities and adopted internationally practiced techniques for the training of polling staffers, including ROs and DROs.
He said that ECP also engaged civil society to create awareness amongst the masses about the electoral process and importance of democracy.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/6/2008
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