Islamabad, Pakistan:
The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has officially released its final report on Pakistan’s 2024 general elections, detailing what it called “conditions which appeared to limit fundamental political rights and impacted one party’s ability to fairly contest the election.” The report, long subject to controversy over its delay, also criticized the cellular service shutdown on election night, which it said “reduced the transparency of the process and impacted the efficiency of receiving results.”
In a “Letter of Transmittal” included in the report, COG Chairperson Dr. Goodluck Jonathan highlighted the central issues facing the elections: the denial of the ‘bat’ election symbol to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the consecutive convictions of party founder Imran Khan, and limitations on fundamental political rights, including freedom of association and assembly.
Limitations on the Level Playing Field
Jonathan wrote that while some arguments supporting institutional actions might appear justifiable in isolation, “collectively, it could not go unnoticed that these decisions consistently limited one party’s ability to contest the election on a level playing field.”
The Supreme Court’s revocation of the PTI’s unifying ‘bat’ symbol, which forced its candidates to contest as independents, was deemed by the COG to have “negative consequences… vastly disproportionate” to the initial offence of not holding intra-party polls. The report specified that these limitations were “felt most acutely by PTI and its supporters.”
Controversies Over Forms-45 and Media Bias
The 161-page report also addressed the widespread allegations of manipulation, particularly concerning the vote tabulation process. The COG stated: “In several constituencies, the Group reviewed documentation that suggested that Form 45s may have been altered to change the total number of votes received by candidates, and that these altered forms were used to compile the tabulated results on Forms 47, resulting in some candidates being illegally returned as elected.”
Regarding media coverage, the report noted that while the English-language media “broadly followed the principles of fair and accurate election reporting,” PTI-affiliated independent candidates “received less positive coverage.” State-owned PTV News was singled out for a lack of balance, concentrating its coverage on the PML-N and the PPP. The group was also “informed that broadcasters were prevented from saying Imran Khan’s name.”
Commending Inclusivity Efforts
On a positive note, the COG commended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) efforts for inclusive elections, particularly the expansion of its Gender and Social Inclusion Wing. These efforts contributed to a significant reduction in the voter registration gender gap, which narrowed from 12% in 2013 to 7.7% in the 2024 election. The group also noted the establishment of the ECP’s gender hotline for reporting election-related harassment.
The report concluded that, despite encouraging signs of democratic potential, the cumulative effect of the constraints “may have impinged on the credibility, transparency and inclusiveness of the electoral process,” and it proposed extensive reforms to the legal framework, election administration, and media environment.
