Nigeria’s former Head of State,
General Abdulsalami Abubakar will lead Commonwealth Observer Group to the forthcoming general
elections in Pakistan, scheduled for 25 July.
The team to be deployed by the
Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, comprises persons drawn from across the
regions of the Commonwealth, with backgrounds in law, election administration,
diplomacy, human rights, civil society, politics and media, among others.
The mandate of the Group is to
consider the factors that affect the credibility of the electoral process as a whole.
Members will form a judgement on
whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards for
democratic elections to which all Commonwealth member states have committed
themselves, with particular reference to the Commonwealth Charter, national
election-related legislation and other relevant regional and international
commitments.
“The Commonwealth Observation
Group is to act impartially and independently. It will be free to propose
actions on institutional, procedural or other matters as would assist concerned
authorities with elections in the future,” said Scotland.
The Group is expected to arrive
in Pakistan on 18 July and return on 30 July.
Observers will receive internal
briefings from the Election Commission of Pakistan, political parties, civil
society, media and those responsible for security, and will also hear views
from various other stakeholders. Members will be deployed to various regions
over several days and return to Islamabad on 26 July to consider their report.
The Group will submit its final
report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, who will forward it to the
Government of Pakistan, Election Commission of Pakistan, and political parties
taking part in the elections and to the Governments of all Commonwealth member
countries.
Thereafter, the final report will
be made public.
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