Ref.: Request for Correction
Dear Sir,
An article published in your newspaper on 11 January 2008, titled “EU poll observers chief leaves” contains a number of factual errors.
The EU Election Observation Mission to Pakistan would therefore request you to publish the following correction:
“EU Chief Observer Michael Gahler has returned to Europe from Pakistan as scheduled to take up his regular duties as a member of the European Parliament. As part of standard methodology, no report is released at this stage of the electoral process. A few days after polling, the mission will publish a preliminary statement with its main findings and conclusions up to that point, and a final report will be released within a few months of the election. These are based on our direct observations and information gathered from a wide variety of interlocutors and sources, with analysis based on international standards for elections. As the Chief Observer has stated, the EU Election Observation Mission urges those who have complaints to submit them to the competent authorities. The mission will then observe to see if complaints are being dealt with in a timely, effective and transparent manner. The mission is committed to impartiality, neutrality and non-interference. ”
The mission has previously requested your paper to publish a correction related to the press conference in Lahore on 8 January 2008. It is regrettable that this was not undertaken.
I therefore strongly request you to publish both of these corrections prominently in tomorrow’s edition of your newspaper. We will also publish this on our mission website. I invite you to contact our mission if you have any questions related to our work. I would also like to offer to brief you and your staff on the mandate and methodology of election observation.
Yours sincerely,
Mathias Eick
Press officer
CC
- Mr. Miangul Akbar Zeb, Additional Secretary ( Europe), Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Mr. Jauhar Saeleem, Director General ( Europe), Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Senator Nisar Memon, Minister of Information
- Justice (rtd) Qazi Farooq, Chief Election Commissioner, ECP
- Mr. Kanwar Dilshad, Secretary, ECP
