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    FAFEN-Preliminary-Report-General-Election-2018 11 PDF

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    FAFEN-Preliminary-Report-General-Election-2018 11 PDF

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    malik javed
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    FAFEN-Preliminary-Report-General-Election-2018 11.pdf

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    21 views1 page

    FAFEN-Preliminary-Report-General-Election-2018 11 PDF

    Uploaded by

    malik javed

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    2013 to Rs. 30,000 for National assembly and Rs. 20,000 for Provincial Assembly in 2018.

    In
    addition, the nomination fee is not refundable under the provisions of the new law. While the
    measure might have been meant to encourage only serious contenders to stand for
    elections, it may also have negatively impacted the ability of financially weaker segments
    of society to take part in elections. Equally important will be strengthening further the process
    of nomination on reserved seats for minorities and women in order to ensure that the elected
    representatives on these seats can best represent the interest of the marginalized groups.

    5 Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Contesting Candidates

    The election campaign lasted 22 days after the publication of Form-33 (Final List of
    Contesting Candidates), six days less than the legal sanction of at least a 28-day campaign
    period under the Elections Law, 2017. The reduced number of days may be a result of the
    changes the Election Commission had to make in the nomination forms on the directions of
    the Lahore High Court. The Court reenacted several disclosures relating to nationality,
    finances, taxes and pending criminal charges, etc. that had been eliminated under the new
    law. The court directions compelled rescheduling in the nomination process, pushing the
    date a few days ahead for the publication of Form-33 as initially stipulated in the election
    programme issued on May 31, 2018.
    The election campaign that followed lacked the traditional hue and colors and was
    relatively lackluster as candidates faced tougher enforcement of stricter formalities notified
    by the Election Commission under the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Contesting
    Candidates. The code criminalizes billboards, wall chalking and panaflexes and limits the use
    of loudspeakers only for election meetings. Candidates may use only banners, posters,
    portraits and pamphlets of prescribed sizes for campaigning. Exploiting religious and
    sectarian sentiments for canvassing and holding campaign activities at places of worship
    were also prohibited under the elections law and the Code of Conduct.
    The ECP established as many as 594 monitoring committees comprising senior government
    officials to monitor the election campaign in all districts and report violations of the Code of
    Conduct to relevant District Monitoring Officers (DMOs), who were authored to levy a fine of
    up to Rs. 50,000. In case of repeated violations, the Election Commission is also empowered
    to disqualify a candidate from the race, which was a strong deterrent. While the Election
    Commission disqualified one candidate (later restored by a High Court), FAFEN interviews
    with DMOs in 89 districts documented instances of 1,855 warnings and 143 fine impositions to
    candidates. Cases of 428 candidates who committed repeated violations were referred to
    the Election Commission for the initiation of further proceedings. However, the ECP website
    does not provide any details of its effective monitoring exercise.
    Based on its observation of adherence to the Code of Conduct by candidates in 6,519
    electoral areas in 244 National Assembly constituencies, FAFEN documented 577 instances
    of oversized posters, banners, pamphlets and portraits; 1,143 instances of the use of banned
    campaign tactics including billboards, panaflex and wall-chalking; 202 instances of the use
    of government buildings for display of party campaign materials; and 227 instances of the
    use of mosques for election campaigns. However, police were observed to remove banned
    campaign materials, and materials illegally placed on government buildings, etc.

    11

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