(New
York, October 9, 2002) - Pakistan's entire election process has
been deeply flawed and the October 10 parliamentary vote is stacked
against democratic rule, Human Rights Watch said in a backgrounder
released today.
"In
the three years since the coup, Pakistan has witnessed a consolidation
of military power rather than a transition to democracy," said
Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia Division of Human Rights
Watch. "Pakistan's international partners cannot ignore this
fact any longer. They need to insist on progress toward democracy
in Pakistan."
Adams
said it may be too late for this election to be conducted in a free
and fair manner, but it was still crucial that election day, and
the vote-counting process, remain free of intimidation and corruption.
In
its backgrounder, Human Rights Watch said that Pakistan's military
government has employed a variety of legal and political tactics
to control the process and outcome of the elections. Those tactics
include constitutional amendments giving President Pervez Musharraf
virtually unfettered powers over parliament and government, and
the revision of electoral procedures that effectively eliminate
the leaders of the two major political parties from participating
in the election. At the same time, the military government has offered
overt support to Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e Azam (PML-QA) candidates,
while working hard to sideline two mainstream political parties:
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's
Party (PPP).
In
the weeks preceding the elections, human rights activists, Pakistani
journalists as well as the PML-N and the PPP members have alleged
extensive poll-rigging by the military government. Allegations include
the relocation of polling booths at the behest of the PML-QA, the
appointment of polling officers handpicked by the PML-QA, the tearing
down of campaign posters and banners, police raids on PPP and PML-N
offices and police harassment of PPP and PML-N workers and candidates
at the behest of the government. On October 6, Punjab’s Jhelum
district police forcibly closed two election offices of the PPP
and one of the PML-N and beat up their workers. In response to various
complaints, the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan issued a
statement on September 21 warning the police not to harass any contesting
candidate.
The
European Union and Japan have sent a delegation of election observers
to monitor the election process while the Commonwealth has sent
a team of monitors to determine whether conditions exist for a free
and democratic election.
Human
Rights Watch urged the Pakistani government to take measures to
address election-related abuses and a meaningful transfer of power
to civilian rule following the elections. These include:
- Ensure
the political rights of all candidates, regardless of their party
affiliation;
- Allow international and domestic election observers unfettered
and unconditional access to polling stations;
- Allow the Election Commission to immediately investigate allegations
of poll-rigging and police raids on political party offices and
take corrective action;
- Immediately rescind all restrictions on political meetings and
rallies imposed after Musharraf’s October 1999 coup; and
- Withdraw constitutional amendments unilaterally imposed in August
that formalize the military’s role in governance, including
the formation of a military dominated National Security Council.
The
international community, and the United States in particular, have
been reluctant to speak out forcefully on the issue of democratic
reform in Pakistan in order to encourage Pakistan's continued support
in the war against terrorism. When he met President Musharraf at
the United Nations last month, U.S. President George W. Bush praised
Pakistan as a “key partner” in the war on terrorism
but made only vague comments about reform, saying adherence to democracy
is key.
The
United States-Pakistan Defense Consultative Group met in Islamabad
from September 24-27, the first time since U.S. sanctions were imposed
following Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998, to discuss arms deals
and the possible resumption of joint military exercises. The United
States authorized the sale of aircraft, harpoon missiles and other
equipment totaling about U.S. $400 million. More arms transfers
are expected.
“Rewarding
Pakistan prematurely with more military aid is a mistake,”
said Adams. “Any new military aid should be linked to the
government's willingness to make more fundamental changes to restore
civilian, constitutional rule and place human rights and the rule
of law at the heart of the new government’s agenda.”
Human
Rights Watch called on the international community to:
- Offer
a genuine assessment of the elections process based on international
standards, taking into account legal and political developments
in the pre-election period, the voting and counting process, and
the post-election period leading to the formation of a new
government;
- Investigate allegations of election-related abuses (EU and Commonwealth
monitors, as well as embassy monitors);
- Support the efforts of domestic election monitors;
- Urge Pakistan to reverse steps taken to consolidate military rule;
and
- Refrain
from providing any additional military aid or arms supplies
until Pakistan implements meaningful democratic reforms.
To
read the backgrounder, please see:
http://hrw.org/press/2002/10/pakistan-bck1009.htm
For
more information, please contact:
In
New York, Smita Narula: +1-212-216-1253
In Washington D.C., Mike Jendrzejczyk: +1-202-612-4341
In London, Urmi Shah: +44-20-7713-2788
In Brussels, Jean-Paul Marthoz: +322-732-2009
