The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has congratulated the people of the country for demonstrating their faith in democracy despite threats to their lives. At the same time the commission has condemned all those responsible for interfering with the people's right to vote in Karachi and elsewhere.
In a statement issued on Saturday evening after the ending of polling, the commission said: "The heavy turnout of voters in today's general election offers a measure of the people's faith in the democratic process. They deserve specially to be congratulated for fulfilling their democratic duty in the face of violence and threats to their lives. They have done their part by marginalising all those who wanted them to reject not only the system of voting but the whole concept of governance by the elected representatives. We would like to hope that those elected today will honour the principles of democratic management with the same zeal and commitment that the people have displayed today.
It is much to be regretted that the question marks on the fairness of elections that appeared during the phase of nomination of candidates and the scrutiny of their nomination papers grew bigger today. The way the electoral process was subverted in Karachi and at a few other places can only be condemned. The grievances of the parties that decided to boycott the polls must be expeditiously and independently probed and all legitimate complaints redressed. All those responsible for interfering with the people's right to vote must be held to account. What does not perhaps need any inquiry is the Election Commission's failure to intervene against the parties that denied women their right to vote.
The polling arrangements throughout the country were generally inadequate and at many places bore the marks of incompetence and insensitivity to voters' needs both. Besides abduction of polling agents, security lapses were observed at many places. In Karachi in some polling stations, polling started around noon due to late arrival of election material and in some (NA 250, in particular) polling could not take place till 6 pm due to absence of staff. Coercion by political workers was also observed. In Lahore selection of bad premises for polling stations increased voters' hardship. At many places the space for polling stations was too small, many old and incapacitated people had difficulty in climbing long stairs to polling booths on the first floors of buildings that had narrow entry/exit points. Above all the polling staff at many places had not been duly trained and found themselves unable to cope with the rush of voters. All this only shows that electoral reforms must remain high on Pakistan's agenda.
Meanwhile, it is hardly necessary to emphasise that the result of Saturday's election should be respected as the will of the people and all efforts made to get along with the task of giving the people a democratic, egalitarian order that they have always desired and deserved.
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