ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has released its assessment of the 2024 General Election, indicating a concerning decline in fairness scores compared to the previous election cycles.
As per the PILDAT assessment, the overall fairness of the 2024 General Election in Pakistan received a score of 49%, which is three percentage points lower than the score received for the 2018 General Election while the fairness assessment scores for the 2013 and 2018 elections stood at 57% and 52%, respectively.
The PILDAT recommended enhancing transparency and accountability measures throughout the electoral process.
The PILDAT called on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct a detailed probe into the delays and deficiencies observed during the 2024 General Election, particularly in result compilation, transmission and consolidation.
In the report, the PILDAT highlighted the following key issues that negatively impacted the quality of 2024 General Election: As per the PILDAT assessment, 2024 General Election’s fairness score plummeted to 49% -- the lowest since 2013 -- signaling a troubling trend in election integrity. Despite advancements, the pre-poll phase has stalled at a 50% fairness score since 2018, indicating persistent pre-election issues.
Polling day’s voting process score dipped to 58% in 2024 from 64% in 2018, yet showed a rise from 44% in 2013, reflecting fluctuating levels of voter experience. No progress in result management since 2018 with the score stuck at 40% -- highlighting a critical need for inquiry into EMS operation.
During the pre-poll phase, the PILDAT observed considerable delays in the scheduling of the election, political repression, lack of impartiality from caretaker governments and state institutions and worsening law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
On polling day, the suspension of mobile phone and internet services not only compromised the Election Management System (EMS) but also created problems for public participation in the electoral process. After polling was completed, the delay in the announcement of provisional results beyond the deadline fixed in Section 13(3) of the Elections Act, 2017, prompted serious questions about the credibility of the election.
The widespread allegations of discrepancy between Forms 45 and Form 47 have also added to the concerns about the credibility of the election. The delay in the publishing of Forms 45, 46, 48 and 49 on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) website – a violation of Section 95(10) of the Elections Act, 2017 – has further damaged the credibility of the election.
Lastly, the allocation of reserved seats to Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) continued to be a major point of contention for 25 days since the polling day, while reserved seats were allocated to all other political parties.
The overall assessment score assessed for the pre-poll phase in the 2024 General Election stood at 50%, matching that of 2018 but falling significantly short of the 2013 score of 62%.
Polling process on Election Day: Part-one assessed the voting process itself, including the performance of polling staff, quality of polling stations and safety during voting hours. The assessment score received for the 2024 General Election stood at 58% for this part.
The score assigned was lower than the score assessed for the 2018 General Election, which was 64% and this shows that in our assessment, the phase of polling day, including the voting process, performance of polling staff, quality of polling stations, and safety during voting hours was assessed to be poorer than that of 2018 General Election.
However, it scored higher than the score of General Election 2013 which stood at 44%. Part two of the polling day phase was about the counting of votes, compilation and transmission of results from polling stations to Returning Officers, consolidation of constituency results and announcement of provisional results. The assessment score assigned to this phase in the 2024 General Election stood at 40%, which was identical to that of the 2018 General Election. In 2013 General Election, the same phase received a score of 50% while in both 2002 and 2008 elections, it was 47%.
Post-poll Phase: In the last segment of the assessment, the post-poll phase, the response of political parties, election observers and the electorate to the election outcomes, compiling and publishing of final results and the process of formation of governments at the federal and provincial levels were assessed. The 2024 election scored 40% for this phase, an all-time low score which mirrored that of the 2002 General Election which had seen unprecedented post-poll rigging in recent years and this low score indicates a low level of trust for the post-election phase.
Overall, the quality of General Election 2024 has scored 49% which is not only below the 50% score but is also lower than the overall score of the past two elections – 52% for GE-2018 and 57% for GE-2013 indicating greater concerns about the quality of the most recent General Election. Within the 2024 General Election process, both part two of the polling day operations i.e., counting, compiling, transmission, consolidation, the announcement of provisional results and the post-election process received the lowest scores of 40% indicating that these two areas were the weakest links in the electoral chain in General Election 2024. The PILDAT recommended that the ECP conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the delays in the transmission, consolidation and announcement of provisional results, the lack of contingency planning to meet result issuance deadlines in case of the EMS inoperability, and failure to publish signed copies of forms 45, 46, 48 and 49 within 14 days of polling day as required under the Elections Act, 2017. The PILDAT also recommended that Election Tribunals should be allowed to resolve disputes on a case-by-case basis.
