'Government distorting election process through ECP'

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has denied voting rights to 38 million people for the upcoming November 2007 elections. Most of the persons who have been denied their right to vote are women in the previous elections, held in 2002, 71.86 million people were registered as voters.
However, in contrast, the ECP has issued a list of only 56 million eligible voters for the upcoming elections, says a press release. According to several civil society organisations like the Sungi Development Foundation and the Strengthening Participatory Organisation, in the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), over 59 percent of women have been denied their voting rights due to their exclusion on the list of voters. The numbers are comparable to those in Sindh where 3.01 million (53.5 percent) women voters are also not registered, in Punjab where 7.1 million (48 percent) women voters have been similarly disenfranchised and in Balochistan where 1.11 million (24 percent) women voters have been denied their right to vote.
The primary feature of the electoral list is that it is based on a separate electoral system contrary to the government's claim that elections are being held in a joint electoral system.
The Ahmadiyya community names are listed separately from those of the Muslims and non-Muslim communities. By being listed separately from Muslims and non-Muslims alike, the Ahmadiyya community faces further discrimination.
Furthermore, the military government is distorting the election process through the ECP to conform to the government's own agenda. It is estimated that in the 2007 elections, at least 88 million voters should be eligible to vote based on the population growth rate of 2.7 percent per annum. In the 2002 elections, there were 71.86 million voters, therefore, how is it possible that in 2007 the numbers dwindle to a mere 56 million, obviously not reflecting the country's population growth? The answer lies in the fact that the government wants to control the voter lists by deleting names belonging to the constituencies of the opposing parties. Although the government has assured the international community that the ECP would be independent in all its procedures.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned that through these methods the Pakistani government is manipulating the elections in its favour. It is not possible to hold free and fair elections when millions of people are denied their voting rights, although the government insists that the 2007 elections will, indeed, be fair and free. The AHRC urges the government to establish a joint electorate system in Pakistan, free of discrimination against any sect or minority. In 2002, the government did introduce a joint electoral system. However, President General Musharraf issued an order calling for separate lists for Ahmadis. Such action was discriminatory towards the Ahmadis.-PR