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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth to Observe General Election in Pakistan

20 January 1997

A team of Commonwealth Observers, supported by  staff  from the Commonwealth Secretariat, will be present in Pakistan for the General Election which is to be held on 3 February 1997.

In making the announcement today, Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku said that the Commonwealth was responding to an invitation from the Government of Pakistan for a Commonwealth Observer Group to observe the General Election. An assessment mission from the Commonwealth Secretariat, which visited Pakistan from  9 to 14 January, established that there was widespread support among the major political parties for a Commonwealth presence during the election.

The Commonwealth team for Pakistan will be led by the Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser, former Prime Minister of Australia. The other observers will be:

Dr K Afari-Gyan
Chairman, Electoral Commission, Ghana

Mr Jean-Jacques Blais
Former Cabinet Minister, Canada

Hon Hassan Diria MP
Former Foreign Minister, Tanzania

Bishop Ralph Hatendi
Member of Electoral Supervisory Commission, Zimbabwe

Mr Richard John
Supervisor of Elections, Antigua and Barbuda

Hon (Ms) Ntlhoi Motsamai MP
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Lesotho

Hon Dr Siteke Mwale
Former Foreign Minister, Zambia

Senator (Ms) Habshah Osman
Member of the Senate, Malaysia

Lord Redesdale
Member of the House of Lords, Britain

Dr (Ms) Kadi Sesay
Chairperson, National Commission for Democracy, Sierra Leone

Hon Paul Tovua MP
Speaker and Chairman, Electoral Commission, Solomon Islands

Hon M M Zuhair MP
Member of Parliament, Sri Lanka

The Group is mandated to consider the various factors impinging on the credibility of the electoral process as a whole and to determine in its own judgement whether the conditions exist for a free expression of will by the electors and if the results of the election reflect the wishes of the people of Pakistan. The Group would also be free to propose to the Government and other concerned authorities such action on institutional, procedural and other matters as would assist the holding of the elections and thereafter the functioning of the elected government.

The Group will be supported by a nine-member team from the Commonwealth Secretariat led by Professor Reg Austin, Director of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division.

Note to Editors:
The mission to Pakistan will represent the 20th election observed by the Commonwealth since October 1990, including elections in Bangladesh, Guyana, Malaysia, Zambia, St Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, South Africa and most recently, Ghana. These observer missions are to be seen in the context of a decision taken by Commonwealth Heads of Government to support the promotion of democracy in a number of ways, including through observation, on request, of elections in member states.

 

97/01   20 January 1997

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