Fafen accuses ECP of putting restrictions

Islamabad
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is putting unnecessary restrictions on the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen)’s independent observation of upcoming local government elections in Sindh and Punjab.
A statement issued by the network noted that the ECP, for the first time, has asked Fafen to seek security clearance of more than 3,000 observers, which is not only impossible and unprecedented, but also not one of the codal formalities for accreditation.
The network intends and has devised a line of action to observe all three phases of upcoming by-elections in the two important provinces of the country, but the Election Commission’s demand has astonished it.
An ECP official has asked the network in writing to provide police, agency and security clearance with regards to all observers so that its application could be further processed.