ISLAMABAD, February 2, 2023: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has called for introducing divisional quotas for seats reserved for women in the National and Provincial Assemblies to ensure the geographical representativeness of women as well as to incentivize their greater political role in the areas where women’s participation is marginal. In
Parties Need to Agree on Regulating Political Finance, Refining Results Management, Devising Mechanisms for Overseas Voting, and Catering to Representativeness Issues In Elections ISLAMABAD, January 27, 2023: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) calls upon the political parties to immediately initiate a comprehensive dialogue on addressing the weaknesses in the existing legal
Violations of Campaigning Restrictions and Lax Compliance with Ballot Issuance Persist ISLAMABAD, January 19, 2023: Voters in Karachi and Hyderabad Divisions turned out variedly to elect more than 3,508 councilors in long-delayed local government elections on January 15, 2023, that remained peaceful and relatively orderly, but were tainted by allegations of rigging
First published on FAFEN's website. ISLAMABAD, October 17, 2022: With only 35 percent of the registered voters turning out on Election Day, the by-elections (BE-2022) in eight National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly constituencies remained peaceful with scattered instances of irregularities primarily concerning unchecked campaigning inside and around polling stations, observes Free
ISLAMABAD, August 7, 2022: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) calls upon the Parliament and political parties to strengthen the regulations on political finance to curtail the role of money in elections that has practically deprived the majority of the population of exercising their right to contest elections. FAFEN urges the political
Conclusive probe into claims of alleged rigging and bias must for integrity of elections ISLAMABAD, July 19, 2022: An impressive 49.7 percent turnout in the by-elections for 20 Punjab Assembly constituencies on July 17, 2022 augurs well for an otherwise struggling democracy in Pakistan. The election day remained largely orderly and well-managed,
Persisting Irregularities and Overcrowding Need to be Checked during Second Phase of LG Elections ISLAMABAD, July 8, 2022: Around 40 percent of the registered voters turned out to vote in the first phase of the local government (LG) elections to elect 5,331 general members of Union Councils, Union Committees, Municipal Committees, Town
Islamabad, June 29, 2022: Abysmally low female turnout and inadequate arrangements to protect secrecy of vote coupled with widespread instances of campaigning and canvassing on Election Day remain major issues clouding the by-election in PK-7 Swat-VI that was otherwise peaceful with generally compliant voting and counting processes, observes Free and Fair Election
ISLAMABAD, June 20, 2022: Election on a working day deterred a majority of voters from casting their ballots in NA-240 (Korangi Karachi-II) by-polls that largely remained orderly, but was overshadowed by two high-profile incidents of violence widely covered on national media, reports Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). According to FAFEN observers,
ISLAMABAD, June 17, 2022: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is delimiting the constituencies for elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies after the official publication of the results of 6th Population and Housing Census 2017. The latest exercise was compelled by the effect of Section 17(2) of the Elections Act, which
ISLAMABAD, April 19, 2022: Abysmally low turnout, inconsistent procedural compliance, and widespread campaigning and canvassing on the polling day marked the NA-33 Hangu by-election, which remained peaceful and free of any controversy. With only 14 percent of the registered voters – 19 percent male voters and six percent female voters – exercising
ISLAMABAD, April 5, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) successfully completed the second phase of the local government (LG) elections with around 41 percent of the 8.5 million registered voters in 18 districts turning out to vote on March 31, 2022 to elect 12,875 representatives on general and reserved seats in an election that
ISLAMABAD, April 4, 2022: Expressing grave concerns at the recent political developments and ensuing constitutional crisis, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has identified multiple constitutional, legal and operational challenges to the conduct of an early election. While the constitutionality of the measures leading to the dissolution of the National Assembly
First published on FAFEN's website on 11 May 2021. Calls for a broader public debate and political discourse on the meaningful electoral reforms to enhance representation and inclusivity ISLAMABAD, May 11, 2021: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has urged the government to desist from any haste in introducing the changes
First published on FAFEN's website on 11 April 2021. ISLAMABAD, April 11, 2021: NA-75 Sialkot-IV (Daska) by-election held on April 10, 2021 witnessed low incidences of electoral violations as procedures were generally transparent and election staff conducted the process with care and mostly in accordance with prescribed regulations. Political competition was heightened
First published on FAFEN's website on 23 February 2021. ANFREL member in Pakistan, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), said they observed an improved quality of electoral processes during the by-elections held from 16-21 February 2021 in five provincial and three national assembly constituencies. FAFEN said the management of voting and
First published on FAFEN's website on 19 January 2020. ISLAMABAD, January 19, 2021: Despite COVID-19 associated challenges, the PS-52 Umer Kot-II by-elections witnessed an encouraging male and female turnout with low incidence of procedural violations indicating improved election management by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). This was first by-election held after
ANFREL member in Pakistan, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), released the preliminary election observation report of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections held on 15 November 2020. FAFEN said the Election Day was largely peaceful with no major incidents of violence reported from anywhere in the region throughout the day. E-Day was
Full Report: FAFEN Key Findings and Analysis for 2018 Pakistan Elections Preliminary Report: FAFEN-Preliminary-Report-General-Election-2018 Pakistan’s 10th General Election were held on July 25, 2018, marking the completion of a decade of continuous democratic rule under civilian governments. While successive elections and peaceful transfers of power suggest that a degree of democratic consolidation has occurred
ANFREL member Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) released a series of updates on the 2018 Pakistan Elections since January 2018. The reports relay important information on the preparation for the elections, statistics on violence, updates from the Election Commission, civil society, and other party and campaign reports. "Free and Fair Election
Download Full Statement as a PDF here For Immediate Release: ANFREL Calls on Election Commission of Pakistan for Greater Transparency on Pressing Electoral Matters BANGKOK, 03 June 2013 – The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), a regional network based organization of 21 civil society groups from across Asia, views with great
National Observers Note Irregularities in Pakistan Elections ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Election Commission on Sunday endorsed the country’s landmark elections that will see the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power via the ballot box in the country's history. It declared the country’s elections for a new national assembly and government leadership as “largely