Islamabad , 4 January 2008: In light of the re-scheduling of the national and provincial assembly elections by the Election Commission of Pakistan to 18 February 2008, the European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner has decided to upgrade the EU Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) to a full Election Observation Mission (EOM). The Mission will continue to be headed by Chief Observer Michael Gahler, Member of the European Parliament.
The Mission is composed of a Core Team of 11 experts based in Islamabad. Subject to a continuing review of the security situation, it is anticipated that some 50 Long-term Observers (LTOs) will be deployed in the coming days, who could be joined by additional observers on a short-term basis over the election day period.
The EOM will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the entire election process, including the campaign, performance of the election administration, performance of the judiciary and general environment in which the elections take place. In line with standard practice, the EU EOM will assess the conduct of the elections in accordance with international standards for democratic elections.
We welcome the recent statements by the President, caretaker government, Election Commission and political parties that the elections should be free, fair and transparent, Gahler said. In this context, he underlined that steps could still be taken in a number of areas by the state and electoral authorities to improve conditions for the elections in line with international standards. These include:
- ensure that the election administration operates in a transparent and consultative manner to promote confidence among election stakeholders;
- issue and enforce instructions to ensure that detailed polling station results are immediately publicly displayed at polling stations and all levels of result consolidation, as well as on the internet, to enable an independent audit to be conducted;
- issue and enforce instructions to ensure that all counting and tabulation processes are fully open to scrutiny by candidates/agents and observers;
- issue and enforce instructions to ensure that state and local officials do not use state assets to influence the electoral process;
- ensure all media outlets are free to cover all aspects of the electionprocess so that voters can make an informed choice; and
- ensure an independent framework for redress, and that complaints and appeals are dealt with in a timely, effective and transparent manner.
The EU EOM is independent in its findings and conclusions and will adhere to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, commemorated at the United Nations in New York in October 2005. Election observation is an important component of the European Unions policy of promoting human rights, democratisation and good governance.
