Pakistan Election Reference and Background Materials from Human Rights Watch

Elections under Musharraf 1999-2007

 

Microsoft Word File Attached

 

Long before Pervez Musharraf took power in a military coup in 1999, elections in Pakistan did not meet international standards for being "free and fair." Periods of military rule have meant that elections were not held regularly and their genuineness was often challenged. The secrecy of the ballot has not always been maintained and practices by local feudal and tribal leaders have frequently compromised the free expression of voters' will. Authorities have often placed severe constraints on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement.

 

This document provides a summary of the issues raised in elections held since Musharraf came to power. The elections covered are:

Local bodies elections, August 2001

Presidential Referendum, April 30, 2002

General elections, October 10, 2002

Local Bodies Elections, August 2005

 

 

Repressive Legal Measures Put in Place by President Musharraf

Available at:

http://hrw.org/pub/2008/asia/Repressive_Legal_Measures_Musharraf.pdf

 

This provides an overview of majot amendments to laws and the constitution under Emergency Rule imposed by General Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007

General Musharraf used the state of emergency he imposed in November 2007 to

arbitrarily change laws and amend the constitution. These amendments seek to

institutionalize serious restrictions on individual rights and provide immunity for

Musharraf and other officials for human rights violations and the subversion of the

rule of law.

 

Human Rights Watch Media Monitoring

Available at:

http://hrw.org/pub/2008/asia/appendix0208.pdf

 

Human Rights Watch monitored television election coverage in three phases prior to elections: December 19-26, 2007; January 7-14, 2008; and February 7-10, 2008. During the monitoring periods, Human Rights Watch documented election-related content in the main news bulletins of the three most popular 24-hour Urdu-language news channels, Aaj TV, ARY One World, and Geo News (on the internet until it was restored on air), as well as the state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) news. Periodically, monitors noted details of news bulletins on other cable channels like Dawn News (English), Business Plus, and Indus News. The bulletins were not recorded.

Human Rights Watch documented the start time of each news story and noted statements of officials and political leaders. The documentation focused on details of elections and campaign news, noted whether the coverage included a video or audio clip of a leader, noted party affiliation, and noted whether the news was provided with a voiceover comment. The monitoring included observations of any unusual news or change in programming. Advertisement and promotional breaks were also noted along with the name of the party sponsoring campaign advertisements.