Pak electoral process vulnerable to fraud: Observers

Pakistan is poorly prepared, and the first parliamentary elections in five years would be highly vulnerable to fraud, independent observers have said.

Lahore, Sep 25 : Pakistan is poorly prepared, and the first parliamentary elections in five years would be highly vulnerable to fraud, independent observers have said.

The most "glaring weakness" in the upcoming elections is the new voter list in which names of millions of Pakistanis are missing, and is liable to cause mass confusion over who is eligible to cast vote, a report by Griff Witte said.

He said that the voter list was created through funding by Washington and was supposed to be a US contribution to the election process.

The report, which appeared in the Washington Post, noted that Pakistan's Supreme Court had ordered the Election Commission to try to identify and add the missing names to the rolls.

"The door is now open to the same kind of fraudulent voting as we've had in the past," said one international elections expert in Pakistan, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Witte stated that observers generally do not blame the US for the failure, but say the US erred in trusting the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The EC, whose members are handpicked by President Pervez Musharraf, has a reputation for incompetence and for lacking independence from the President, Witte added.

The report said that the stakes in the voting for Parliament are high and the outcome would determine who becomes Prime Minister. Even if Musharraf wins a new term as President, his authority could be seriously eroded if his party receives scant public support.

According to the report, the US budget for election assistance in Pakistan is 28 million dollars, with the largest contribution being 10 million dollars spent on computerising the new voter rolls, a programme that officials broadly defend, while acknowledging problems.

"The new computerised electoral rolls are the most accurate voters' list that Pakistan has produced, although the list is not yet complete," said Anne Aarnes, Director of the US Agency for International Development in Pakistan.

Aarnes pointed out that the US has also spent money on efforts not related specifically to the EC, including support for election monitoring by local groups and training for journalists who would cover the election.

However, Witte notes that Pakistani democracy advocates say that funding for those programmes is comparatively small and they have repeatedly told the US and other international donors that focusing so much aid on the EC was a waste.

The lists were compiled by the EC through door-to-door distribution and collection of registration forms. The end result showed 52 million names - 20 million less than in 2002 - a strange occurrence considering population growth.

"The whole methodology adopted by the EC was flawed," said Sarwar Bari, who leads Pakistan's Free and Fair Elections Network, a pro-democracy non-profit group.

He said it was a mistake to have people fill out the forms themselves in a country where half the population is illiterate.

According to Witte, opposition parties have charged that this is just another episode in a long history of attempts by Pakistani governments to rig the polls before elections.

The opaque nature of the EC has only heightened suspicions, he adds.

While the Supreme Court has intervened to try to get the rolls fixed, the proposed solution - merging the 2002 and 2007 lists while lowering identification standards - could create even more problems, notes the report.

"Now I I'll be able to add my name three or four times," Bari said.

ANI