ISLAMABAD: The European Union (EU) has told the government that it will not be able to send a full election observation mission due to lack of time, As he did in the 2018 election, and will also be unable to make recommendations after the February 8 election, The News reported on Monday.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has invited an observation mission for next year’s elections. The European Union’s Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has monitored elections five times in the country.
During the last election of 2018, EU EOM consisted of a core team of 10 analysts and 60 long-term observers across the country. On election day, it deployed a total of 122 observers.
Later, in October 2018, the mission shared its final report with Pakistani authorities with 30 recommendations to improve the future electoral process. At least 8 of the 30 recommendations were identified as priority.
“ Only a small mission of experts will visit Pakistan during the 2024 elections, while no voting recommendations or political review will be submitted to the Government of Pakistan. The EU will not send a full election observation mission. EU Ambassador to Pakistan Reina Keunka told The News that she needed several months in advance for planning and budgeting.
The envoy said he had conveyed his position to various government officials he had recently met.
Distinguished when a Foreign Office spokesman was asked about the EU mission or the Ministry issued an invitation to election observers from individual countries or international organizations Zahra Baloch said: “I do not have that data with me. So, I have to take it back and maybe answer at another point. ”
The ECP has urged the Foreign Office to take necessary steps to invite international observers to monitor the transparency of the upcoming general elections, And the Code of Conduct for International Observers will also be published.
The ECP says it has informed the Foreign Office that it believes in open-door policy and that the next general election will be held as soon as possible Welcomes the observation mission for.
