The EU welcomes the public commitment made by President Musharraf that elections in Pakistan to National and Provincial Assemblies on 18 February will be held in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner. The EU understands that technical preparations for the polls are on schedule. The EU has deployed an Election Observation Mission to Pakistan which will offer an independent assessment of the conduct of the elections in accordance with international standards for democratic elections.
At the same time, the EU has concerns about a number of issues relating to the conduct of the elections. The EU urges the authorities to take all possible steps in the remaining days to improve the conditions in which the elections are being held.
The transparency of the electoral process will be essential to restoring public confidence and ultimate progress towards national reconciliation. This can be promoted through an open and consultative election administration, the strict neutrality of caretaker governments at national and provincial levels, and freedom for the media to cover all aspects of the election process.
The EU appreciates assurances given by the election administration that all counting and tabulation processes are fully open to scrutiny by candidates, their agents and observers. However, in order to ensure transparency of the results process, it is vital that the authorities issue and enforce instructions to display detailed results in polling stations, immediately after counting is complete, and to publicly display a detailed breakdown of polling station results at the constituency level as soon as the tabulation process is complete. A further positive measure would be to swiftly post the detailed polling station results on the internet.
The EU urges the Pakistan authorities to ensure that complaints and appeals are dealt with in a timely, effective and transparent manner. There should be access to an independent means of redress. The EU renews its call for the immediate release of political detainees including judges and lawyers as an essential step in restoring confidence in the independence of the judiciary, rule of law and democratic process. This would represent an important step in creating a free and open pre-electoral environment.
The Candidate Countries Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
