Electoral process free, fair, and lawful: international observers

The international observers that had overseen the voting process during the Local Council Elections held on Saturday have deemed it free and fair.

The observers from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bosnia, and Afghanistan had unanimously agreed the electoral process was free and that Elections Commission officials were well-trained.

“I did not see anything unlawful – all the processes were within regulations and the law” said Nadim Kasim from Pakistan.

Kasim had further described Elections Commission officials as expertly-trained while noting that Pakistan conducts, processes, and releases results for an election with 83 million registered voters within 24 hours.

The Elections Commission is yet to announce the results of Saturday’s vote.

Maliha Hassan, whose country is now commended for its heavily-assisted democratic gains after the collapse of the Taliban, noted that elderly voters and those with disability were seemingly problematic to elections officials.

The panel, namely Bosnia’s Election’s Commissioner Irena Hadžiabdić had defended the controversial decision by the Elections Commission to extend the voting period on Saturday. She said it was the most pragmatic approach as it allowed some voters to not lose their constitutional right to political representation.

While the six nations have deemed the elections fair, opposition parties have raised several concerns about the vote, from logistical preparations to the conduct within polling stations.