Pakistan’s democratic transition has proceeded slowly since President Pervez Musharraf reinstated the National and Provincial Assemblies after the October 2002 elections. Despite President Musharraf’s public statements that Pakistan would complete the government’s transition to civilian rule by the end of 2004, he continues to head the military. Preparations are currently underway for National and Provincial Assembly elections, expected in January 2008. Political parties and civil society leaders have raised several significant issues that could impact the integrity of the electoral process, including restrictions on the ability of political parties to compete fairly, the role of the military and party leaders in exile, the independence of the Election Commission of Pakistan, and allegations of inappropriate use of state resources and security personnel. In response to President Musharraf’s decision to seek reelection and due to the status of ongoing electoral preparations, opposition leaders have called for the president to separate the military from the government, as well as provide a neutral caretaker government during the electoral period. Civil society and political parties have been mounting campaigns to protest government interference in the judicial system, signaling mounting pressure to curtail eight years of military rule. Pre-poll rigging, particularly during the voter registration process, and a fear of election day manipulation remain a concern to parties and civil society. These issues threaten to undermine public confidence in the democratic electoral process.
NDI Programs
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) is actively engaged in democratic development in Pakistan, working with groups seeking to improve democratic institutions and civil society in Pakistan. In March 2002, NDI opened an office in Islamabad and launched a program to assess the state of political parties in Pakistan. The Institute facilitated research to examine challenges facing the country’s political parties, and to identify reform-minded party leaders committed to strengthening democratic processes and institutions. Subsequent programs have focused on improving the ability of citizens to monitor government activity, providing training for journalists, increasing the skills and capacity of political party members, strengthening the capacity of political parties to engage in local governance, and working with parties to promote sustainable, peaceful dialogue on a range of issues undermining Balochistan’s stability.
NDI and its local partner, the Centre for Civic Education (CCE), launched a program in March 2004 to enhance the capacity of Pakistan’s political parties to undertake internal party reform. This six-month pilot project, based in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), was designed to support the emergence of reform-minded party leaders from parties committed to a democratic political system. The pilot program expanded into a multiyear United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded political parties program in the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and the NWFP. NDI worked with emerging party leaders to initiate reform efforts within their respective parties. As part of this program, the Institute conducted focus groups to determine citizens’ views of the parties, and used this research to help parties devise action plans for internal reform.
NDI has been implementing programs to assist political parties to strengthen their internal development and increase the political participation of marginalized groups such as youth, women, and ethnic minorities. In June 2004, NDI began implementing a U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)-funded program, “Supporting Women Political Leaders in Muslim South Asia,” which sought to promote women as political candidates and elected representatives in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This program was expanded in Pakistan in the summer of 2006. In April 2006, the Institute initiated a DRL-funded program to strengthen youth participation in political parties.
The Institute has been actively involved in supporting the electoral process in Pakistan. NDI organized international delegations to observe the national and provincial elections in 1988, 1990, and 1993. In 1997, the Institute sponsored a pre-election delegation to assess election preparations. Based on the mission’s findings, an NDI technical team remained in Pakistan to observe the elections, including a monitoring presence in Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (FATA). In advance of the 2002 general elections, NDI organized nationwide trainings for over 1,200 party poll watchers. The Institute also produced and distributed over 550,000 party poll watching manuals, which were widely used across the country on election day. In 2007, NDI organized the first of two pre-election assessment missions in May in advance of parliamentary and provincial elections expected in January 2008; a second mission is scheduled for October. The Institute is also planning to help train party polling agents, to work with parties to develop a code of conduct for the elections, and to organize voter education activities in FATA.
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