Islamabad: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has released a report on the 2024 election.
FAFEN says that the Election Act requires the presence of returning officers, Form 47 of election candidates, their agents, and authorized observers. Observations reveal that out of 260 constituencies, the ROs did not fulfill all legal requirements for 135 constituencies.
The report states that the actions of the returning officers have affected the Election Commission’s efforts for electoral transparency, as ROs did not allow FAFEN observers to witness the result preparation in 135 National Assembly constituencies.
FAFEN stated that observers were prevented from observing in 46 constituencies where PTI-supported candidates were successful, 43 constituencies where PML-N candidates were successful, and 28 constituencies where PPP candidates were successful.
FAFEN said that returning officers prevented election candidates and their agents from observing the result preparation in 65 constituencies, resulting in the success of 25 PML-N, 24 PTI-supported, and 5 PPP candidates.
FAFEN stated that the legal deadline for result preparation was only met in 4 constituencies by 2 am, and out of 80 observed constituencies, 42 had unsealed bags without election candidates or agents present.
FAFEN stated that in 53 National Assembly constituencies, FAFEN identified 45 form errors and informed the presiding officers for correction.