Press release

Foundation of electoral reforms should be right to participation

Islamabad, 31 August 2022. A national conference held by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) has underscored the need for electoral reforms that protect the interests of vulnerable and marginalised groups while ensuring credible, transparent elections. Birgit Lamm, Pakistan head of FNF, said that citizens should be informed of their electoral rights and responsibilities, while HRCP secretary-general Harris Khalique pointed out that ‘federalism and equal citizenship are key parts of the democratic process.’

Former PPP senator Farhatullah Babar felt that the credibility of elections had always been suspect because of the role of intelligence agencies, which ‘should be brought within the ambit of the law and held accountable for transgressions.’ Arshad Dad, former secretary-general of PTI, said it was important to move beyond ‘the influence of money and biraderi in electoral politics.’ Responding to his comment that voters should be ‘educated’ for the democratic process to be more effective, NDM chairman Mohsin Dawar contended that ‘illiterate voters often have more political wisdom than those who hold PhDs.’

As part of the panel examining polling procedures and voter enfranchisement, NADRA chairperson Tariq Malik said that, even though NADRA had achieved over 96 percent registration, it was necessary to capture all remaining missing voters. PPP leader Taj Haider suggested that returning officers should post images of Form 45 to the ECP website for greater transparency of results.

Former NCSW chairperson Khawar Mumtaz recommended a 20 percent minimum requirement for women voters’ turnout to give parties a greater stake in pushing for women’s registration. Rashid Chaudhry of FAFEN said that polling stations should be no more than 1 kilometre from voters’ area of residence. HRCP Council member Husain Naqi added that no fair election could occur without an accurate census.

Analysing the quota system for vulnerable groups, former PCSW chairperson Fauzia Viqar said that ‘affirmative action should be translated into mainstream participation.’ Romana Bashir of the Peace and Development Foundation concurred, saying that religious minorities should have greater representation on parties’ core committees. Information commissioner Zahid Abdullah underscored the need for an ‘organic movement’ to mainstream the electoral participation of persons living with disabilities.

Speaking on the electoral process in the context of ‘fake news’, senior journalist Suhail Warraich emphasised that reporting should remain bias-free, while former PFUJ president Shahzada Zulfiqar pointed out that, in the race for breaking news, the role of the editor had receded. Digital rights activist Usama Khilji explained that countering disinformation required greater digital literacy, a culture of fact-checking in media houses, and social media codes of conduct for political parties.

HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani concluded the conference by saying that ‘the foundation of electoral reforms should be the right to participation at every stage. However, participation is a means to empowerment, not an end in itself.’

Hina Jilani
Chairperson