Brussels, 21/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - European Commission President José Manuel Barroso welcomed how well the legislative and provincial elections passed off in Pakistan. “These elections have clearly shown that the people of Pakistan stand for democracy and reject extremism,” he said in a press release published on Wednesday 20 February. In the vote, held on Monday 18 February, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the party of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated on 27 December, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz of Nawaz Sharif came out on top. With 86 and 65 seats respectively, the two opposition parties far outdistanced the party of President Pervez Musharraf (PML-Q), which won 37 seats. Radical Islamist parties won only three seats, after taking over 50 in the 2002 General Elections. “Pakistan's moderate democratic forces now have an important opportunity to advance towards national unity,” Barroso said.
External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner hailed the work of the EU election observation team. Observation team leader Michael Gahler (EPP-ED, Germany) and the delegation chairman Robert Evans (PES, UK) said the elections had been “competitive”, although significant problems with the electoral framework had been noted. Presenting their preliminary findings at a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday 20 February, Gahler said he was “relieved” at how well the elections had passed off and commended the “commitment shown by voters, candidates, election staff, and representatives of media and civil society”. EU observers noted, however, disorder and procedural irregularities, particularly in female polling stations. The counting process was positively assessed in the majority of constituencies observed, although candidate agents and observers were not granted sufficient access to the results compilation. The EU team also noted that public authorities favoured the former ruling parties, that there were serious restrictions on the right to stand as a candidate, and restrictions and pressure on the media throughout the campaign period. Private media provided candidates and parties with pluralistic coverage during the campaign, but the public broadcasters gave substantial coverage to the president, government and PML-Q, and only limited coverage of other parties. (A.B.)