EU Withholds Assessment Report on Pakistan’s 2024 Elections

EU Withholds Assessment Report on Pakistan’s 2024 Elections, But Why? The European Union has decided not to release its assessment of Pakistan’s 2024 general elections without prior approval from the Pakistani government.

This move is aimed at preventing potential diplomatic tensions. Traditionally, the EU shares its election observation reports publicly, but due to limited time, a full observation mission was not dispatched this year. The report, which includes recommendations for addressing election irregularities, remains undisclosed, heightening concerns about the election’s transparency and integrity.

EU Election Observation Mission Report

EU Withholds Assessment Report on Pakistan’s 2024 Elections, But Why? Usually, the task of election monitoring for the general public by the EEAS is undertaken by its observers at the request of a non-EU country. One public outcome of this exercise is the EU Election Observation Mission Report.

On its website the EEAS has made accessible Observer Mission reports from general elections in Pakistan up till 2002, which is widely understood as a period of martial law.

This election cycle however the observers may not have been invited by the Government. The EU Ambassador to Pakistan, Riina Kionka, in a related query from a journalist in September on X, responded that there was “not enough advance time to send a full-blown observation mission”.

The EU had instead called upon the “relevant authorities to ensure a timely and full investigation of all reported election irregularities and to implement the recommendations of the upcoming EU Election Expert Mission report.” What those recommendations are seem to be classified.

While it is understandable that the EU maintains good ties with the Pakistani Establishment, should that impinge upon the very real concerns of the Pakistani public, regarding who represents them? Surely, promoting fair representation should be a basic goal of EEAS.

Irregularities in the 2024 Elections

The local and international press have also widely reported irregularities regarding the 2024 general elections in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan can take public confidence by allowing the issuance of expert recommendations.

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Some observers in Pakistan have described the irregularities as business as usual for a state struggling with economic and other social problems.

However, mounting evidence shows that the scale of these irregularities, including the ban on the Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, is serious and damaging to Pakistan’s democracy, good governance and human rights record.

PILDAT, Pakistan’s premier think tank for democracy promotion, recently reported that the quality of the last elections was the worst since the state’s democratic renewal in 2008.