ISLAMABAD: As the assemblies are nearing their five-year terms, the smaller Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly has beaten the three-time bigger Punjab Assembly in terms of spending on its members through foreign trips and salary raise, official data obtained by The News revealed.

Certified information obtained through the Right to Information Law shows that despite being a third of the size of the Punjab Assembly, the KP Assembly spent three-time more on foreign visits of its members and staff as compared to legislators in the Punjab during the last five years.

Interestingly, according to the KP Assembly website, the house passed five laws during as many years to enhance salaries and perks of provincial assembly members and cabinet members while during the same period not a single such law was passed by the Punjab Assembly.

The data, however, shows that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led KP Assembly passed more laws ever since its inception after 2013 elections as compared to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led Punjab Assembly. The Punjab Assembly passed 163 government bills in five years while the KP Assembly passed as many as 172 bills, which included 29 private member bills.

The data shows the KP Assembly, which has 124 members, spent Rs53.6 million on foreign tours while the Punjab Assembly with the strength of 371 members spent only Rs16.5 million on foreign tours of its members.

The certified data shows that only eight members of the Punjab Assembly went on foreign tours during the last five years while in KP over 60 members of assembly embarked on state-funded foreign tours.

The data was obtained through respective provincial Right to Information (RTI) laws by this correspondent in collaboration with the Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI), a civil society organisation working on the RTI.

The KP Assembly Speaker, Asad Qaiser, travelled abroad 10 times, including six trips to England, and one trip each to the United States, Iran, Scotland and Africa. Qaiser spent Rs5.5 million from the provincial budget on his trips while Information Technology Special Secretary Attaullah Khan had spent Rs4.1 million of the public exchequer on foreign visits. In addition, Rs2.9 million was spent by the KP Assembly Special Secretary to the Speaker Syed Wiqar Shah on foreign trips.

MPAs, provincial ministers, advisers, parliamentary secretaries and even the opposition members of the assembly have used the public money to undertake these visits. The provincial assembly’s special secretary for information technology had visited eight countries during his tenure, while special secretary of the speaker of the provincial assembly visited six countries.

Also the KP Assembly passed five bills to increase perks and privileges of its members. These bills include The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Salaries, Allowances and Privileges Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill, 2017, the KP Ministers Salaries Allowances and Privilege (Amendment) Bill, 2014, The KP Salary Allowances and Privileges Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ministers Salaries & Allowances (Amendment) Bill 2014.

When contacted for version, KP Parliamentary Secretary for Law & Parliamentary Affairs Nagina Khan said since the PTI government had eliminated all the means of corruption for members, they were being compensated with enhanced salaries, perks, etc.

However, in a recent press conference, PTI chief Imran Khan admitted that his party MPAs accepted bribe in Senate elections to vote against the party candidates. “Previously, MPAs used to get quota in jobs and get their favorites appointed against various posts. But now the members are totally dependent on their salaries and there are no other means to make money,” she said. When asked why five separate bills had been passed to enhance salaries, she said, “It is always good to bring change slowly otherwise it could become a media issue”.

On the other hand, information received from the Punjab Assembly shows that Rs16.5 million were spent from the taxpayers’ money on foreign tours of MPAs and staff of the assembly secretariat.

Interestingly, in Punjab the total amount (Rs10.8 million) spent on tours of assembly officials is twice the amount spent on MPs (Rs5.6 million). The data shows Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Muhammad Iqbal visited London thrice while spending an amount of Rs2.05 million from the national exchequer on these visits. All his visits were conducted to attend the CPA meetings, according to the information provided by the Punjab Assembly secretariat.

Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani spent Rs1.05 million on his maiden visit to Columbus (USA) in 2016. He was there to attend the general conference of International Federation of Library Association (IFLA).

Mian Tariq Mehmood of PML-N who made six trips abroad — the most by any member — spent an amount of Rs2.9 million on these tours. He told The News that visits were made to attend the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) meeting. He said it was the declared policy of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to stop unnecessary foreign trips of MPAs, which were used in the past as a form of political bribe.

The PML-N member claimed that all his visits were sponsored by CPA. However, the Public Information Officer of Punjab government Abeeda Haroon told The News that the visits were partly funded from the public exchequer. “The expenditure incurred were in accordance with the government of Punjab letter No.FD.SR.I-83/07 dated 15th March 2007.” She said 30 percent daily allowance is only admissible to the participants if the tour is sponsored by the host.

This report is published by Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) to bring forth different trends of women participation in the electoral process and factors hinder-ing or encouraging it during by-elections of NA-154 (Lodhran-I) held on February 12, 2018. This analysis is generated on a sample size of 50 polling stations. The sample was drawn using systematic random sampling method to select 15% of total polling stations.

The total number of registered voters in the constituency is 4,31,002, with 2,36,496 (54.9%) male voters and 194506 (45.1%) female voters. To accommodate these voters, an equal number of 49 polling stations for men and women have been set up in addition to 240 combined polling stations in the constituency. These polling stations consist of total 1043 polling booths including 566 for men and 477 for women.

The data collected on election day shows that mostly same-gender staff is deployed at the polling booths. The CPDI team observed that all booths set up for female voters at combined and female polling stations had women as assistant presiding officers and polling officers.

A dominance of men as presiding officers was observed on male and combined polling stations. At female polling stations all the polling staff was female. Moreover, at all 32 sampled combined polling stations had men as their presiding officer. This shows women are not often the first choice for top positions.

In terms of women participation as party polling agents, PTI had largest number of polling agents at female sampled polling booths with presence at 75% booths, while PML (N) polling agents covered 60% female sampled polling booths. PPPP polling agents were present at only 14% sampled female booths.

A lower turn out of women was observed in comparison to men. On an average 22 wom-en voters voted in an hour on a sampled female polling booth as compared to 27 men on the male booth. This lower turn out of women was noticed despite ECP’s effort to mobi-lize women voters and the provisions of section 12 (C) of Elections Act 2017.

The CPDI teams interviewed female voters on sampled polling stations on election day to collect more data about women participation. Women from the age group 23 to 35 years participated heavily (43%) while participation of age group 18 to 22 years was low (8%). Moreover 36% of the women voters belong to the age group of 36 to 50 years. It appears that middle age women especially married are encouraged to participate in electoral ac-tivities but younger women are discouraged and it is considered unnecessary exposure for them. This data also signifies the need to focus and pay more attention to women youth as their low participation in electoral process may also be reflecting their lack of interest in political engagement.

The interview data further sheds light on relation between marital status and occupa-tions of women and their turn out. The data reveals that 58% of women appearing to vote were Housewife, 12%were unemployed, 8% were doing government or private job and 7 % were students. This data reflects that majority of the women voters in the sam-ple were housewives.

The CPDI interviewers also asked about educational background of women voters; 14% out of them were matric, 25% were below matric but literate, 38% were illiterate and 22% were graduates or above.

It was observed that women turnout was the highest during 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm when per booth ratio remained 23 voters per hour. It appears that this is the time when women get free from their household responsibilities and feel their daily routine would not be disturbed by leaving home during this time.

During the rush hours polling staff was unable to provide special assistance to older women, expecting mothers and mothers of infants. From 42% of sampled polling sta-tions, there were no reports of preferential treatment being given to expecting mothers. In 39% polling stations CPDI observers said no preferential treatment was giving to old age women. Mothers carrying young children were further neglected in this category and observers from 46% polling stations reported that no preferential treatment was given to them either.

About CED: CED is a civil society coalition for voter education, election observation and strengthening democratic institutions. Its secretariat is based at CPDI

This report is issued by Coalition for Elections and Democracy (CED) for observing the counting process at NA-154 (Lodhran-I). Total number of Registered voters in the constituency is 4,31,002 including 2,36,496 male voters and 1,94,506 female voters. Total number of polling stations set up in the constituency is 338 with 1043 polling booths, 566 for male voters and 477 for female voters.

The official closing time of the polling is 5pm. The CED teams made sure to enter the sampled polling stations before the closure of voting process. However, at the Polling Station #55 Govt. Girls Primary School, Chak No. 97/M (Male), at polling station # 31 Govt. Boys High School, (Male) and at polling station # 253 Basic Health Unit, Galay wal at Sagwan (Comb) security officials didn’t allow the observers to enter the polling stations and observe the counting process. The observers remained outside the polling stations till the end of the counting process and received copy of polling station result count i.e. form 45 from the presiding officers.

The observers reported that 100 % of the observed polling stations closed on time. The polling staff started the closing process immediately and the counting started within 10 minutes of the closing at average. The voters waiting to vote inside the polling station were allowed to vote.

At 100% of the sampled polling stations the observers reported that the staff counted the number of issued ballot papers while closing the polling. At same percent of sampled polling stations the staff recorded the number of issued ballot papers in ECP forms. While staff at 100% polling stations counted and record the number of un-used ballot papers immediately after start of closing process. Teams of observers reported that at 33% of the polling stations seal of the ballot box was not properly intact when it was brought to table for counting process. Observers reported from 100% polling stations that the polling staff cross checked the number of ballots cast against the number of signatures on the counterfoil I.e. issued ballot papers. Observers reported that that at 11% of the polling stations the polling staff did not perform the crosschecks of the data for mathematical consistency. Observers reported that at 22% of the polling stations that counting process was seriously hampered by overcrowding.

Team of observers reported that at 100% polling stations presiding officer got signature of senior assistant presiding officer and polling agents on result of the count and ballot paper account while at 77% polling stations presiding officer got signature of observers on the result of the count and ballot paper account.

Team of observers reported that at 11 % of sampled polling stations the presiding officers did not paste the result outside the polling station for the public. At100 % of sampled polling stations the presiding officers gave copies of the result (form 45) to the poling agents. The observers reported that at 45% polling stations the ballot paper account was not posted outside the polling station.

The observers noted that during counting process no formal complaint was lodged at polling stations. The polling staff cooperated with the CED observers during the counting process. All the observers were allowed to sit in the counting room without any restriction except for three polling station already mentioned above. The presiding officers of all the sampled polling stations answered all questions related to counting process and shared details of the vote count with observers.

About CED: CED is a civil society coalition for voter education, election observation and strengthening democratic institutions. Its secretariat is based at CPDI

This report is issued by Coalition for Elections and Democracy (CED) for observing voting process in NA-154 (Lodhran-I) by-election. Total number of Registered voters in the constituency is 4,31,002 including 2,36,496 male voters and 1,94,506 female voters. Total number of polling stations set up in the constituency is 338 with 1043 polling booths, 566 for male voters and 477 for female voters.

The CED teams initiated observation of the voting process right from the opening of the polling sta-tions. Polling staff was present at all the sampled polling stations observed during the day. The vot-ers’ enthusiasm geared up as the day progressed and queues of voters were seen outside 38% poll-ing stations. This number was reasonably low in early morning observation. The average voter turn-out per booth per hour was 25.53 during the day. This average remained 26.59 for male voters and 22.72 for female voters. The observers submitted their reports of voting process until 4:55 PM so that they could enter the polling stations again for observation of the closing and counting process.

Observers reported election code violations from vicinity of 19% of the sampled polling stations. Of these 19% polling stations, at 78% voter transportation and voter ‘parchi’ issuance was reported by the observers, 44% of these polling stations had party camps within 400 yards while campaign mate-rial and campaign activity were seen at 44% and 33% of these polling stations respectively.

Inside the polling stations observers noted that the layout of the voting area was adequate for con-duct of polling at 90% sampled polling stations and sufficiently protected secrecy of ballot at 98% sampled polling station. Moreover, 94% of the observers stated that the layout of the voting area was suitable to voters with reduced mobility.

Presence of unauthorized persons inside polling stations was also reported by the observers at some places for instance at PS#139 a party official was seen inside the polling station. The observer re-ported that polling staff did not ask the party official to leave the venue.

About transparency and facilitation of the observes at the polling stations, CED observers reported obstruction by security officials from 10% of the sampled polling stations during the voting process. Surprisingly at PS#133 all polling agents along with observers were made to sit out of the polling room instead of being able to witness the proceedings. The polling stations where ECP’s accredited CED observers were unable to get in or gather information of voting process due to restrictions by security forces include PS#31, PS#49, PS#55, PS#133, PS#145, PS#253. These incidents not only un-dermine the authority of the ECP staff at the polling station but also raise questions about transpar-ency of procedure. The situation warrants corrective measures by the ECP including proper election processes orientation of the security staff being deployed on the polling stations.

The observers reported that 19% of sampled polling stations were overcrowded while at 7% unrest among the party polling agents was observed. At 16% sampled polling stations the observers sighted party campaign material and at 11% party campaign activity inside the building. Overall on an aver-age 1.3 discrepancies were reported from each sampled polling station during the voting process.

The observers also reported about presence of party polling agents during the day. PML (N) had presence of polling agents at 73% male sampled polling booths and 61% female polling booths. PTI had its polling agents present at 73% male polling booths and 75% female polling booths. The PPPP remained behind and it only had it presence at 25% male booths and 14% female booths during the voting process.

No major law and order situation was witnessed at the sampled polling stations during the CED ob-servation. The security situation generally remained in control of the law enforcement agencies. This tight control started affecting the observation process more as closing time approached. The ob-servers reported from various locations that the security personal asked them to leave the polling stations as soon as the polling time ends, implying that they would not be able to observe counting process at these polling stations.

About CED: CED is a civil society coalition for voter education, election observation and strengthening democratic institutions. Its secretariat is based at CPDI

The exit poll exercise conducted by the Coalition for Elections and Democracy (CED) in bye-elections of National Assembly Constituency NA-154 indicates that both principal parties running neck and neck. PTI candidate bagged 46.74% votes as against 45.55% votes bagged by PMLN candidate. The survey was conducted on a sample size of 1427 voters; including 917 males, 510 females. The responses were collected from 17% of sampled polling stations. Total number of Registered voters in the constituency is 4,31,002 including 2,36,496 male voters and 1,94,506 female voters. Total number of polling stations set up in the constituency is 338 with 1043 polling booths, 566 for male voters and 477 for female voters. This report presents the responses from the votes from sampled polling stations taken throughout the day. PPPP continued its dismal performance in the Punjab by claiming only 3.71% of the polled votes.

The analysis of exit poll data shows some interesting trends. The gender breakdown of the exit poll result shows that PMLN candidate attracted more males than females. PMLN vote mix contain 70% of male votes as against 30% of the female votes. For PTI, male-female ratio remained 58% to 42%.

The voting activity also has clear connection with educational qualifications of the voters. PMLN is a clear choice for 3 bottom educational groups that include illiterate, primary and matric. As the educational qualification increases, the voter base of PTI also increases. PTI enjoys majority among voters with educational qualification as Graduate, Masters and M.Phil/PhD.

The connection between age group and vote choice remained consistent with the past trends. PTI remained clear choice of younger voters. PTI enjoys a clear lead among voters from age group 18-22 and 23-35. As the voter grows in age, PMLN starts impressing them. PMLN is a clear favorite for the age groups 35-50, 51-65 and 65+.

The voter choice from different professional groups also remained consistent with the traditional trends. PTI enjoys popularity among students, housewives, government and private jobs groups. PMLN has majority among unemployed, daily wagers, industry workers, and self-employed groups.

About CED: CED is a civil society coalition for voter education, election observation and strengthening democratic institutions. Its secretariat is based at CPDI

This report is issued by Coalition for Elections and Democracy (CED) for observing the by-election at NA-154 (Lodhran-I). Total number of Registered voters in the constituency is 4,31,002 including 2,36,496 male voters and 1,94,506 female voters. Total number of polling stations set up in the constituency is 338 with 1043 polling booths, 566 for male voters and 477 for female voters. This report presents the observation of the opening process of polling in the constituency.

The observation teams reached the designated polling stations at 7:30 am to assess the preparedness of the polling staff and to observe the opening process. At 17% of the sampled polling stations the security staff obstructed entry of the observers. This matter was taken up with the returning officer and at majority of polling stations issue was resolved. At polling station #193 and #49 the situation prolonged further. Finally, on intervention of a senior security official the matter was resolved at PS#193; but permission was not granted to the observation team deputed at PS#49. It is pertinent to mention here that all CED observers have been duly accredited by the ECP.

Before entering the polling stations the observers assessed the environment outside the polling station. Voter enthusiasm was observed to be moderate in the morning and observers reported queues of voters outside the gates of 9% polling stations before start of the voting. Situation outside the polling station before the start of the polling was generally calm and no incident of violence was reported, the security forces were in good control of the security arrangements.

The observers reported violation of election code outside 27% sampled polling stations. At all of the reported polling stations voters were being transported by the candidates while 50% of these polling stations had the issue of voter ‘parchi’ distribution by parties.

Starting time of the polling is 8 am however 36% of the sampled polling stations started late. Out of those polling stations that started late, the delay of 11-30 minutes was observed at 25% and 1-10 minutes at 75% polling stations. Major cause of delay was unpreparedness of staff; however, at polling station # 139 the delay occurred because polling staff waited for polling agents to arrive before opening the polling station for voting.

The polling station lay out at the start of the polling was found to be suitable for voting at 80% sampled polling stations while from 20% polling stations observers reported issues of insufficient space for instance polling set-up established in the corridor of the building instead of rooms or in congested place.

Sufficient essential polling material i.e. ballot boxes, secrecy screens, seals, indelible ink, voters’ lists etc. was present at all the sampled polling stations at the start of the polling.

The CED observers reported that the ECP staff followed opening procedure at majority of the sampled polling stations. The empty ballot boxes were shown at 91% polling stations while 100% ballot boxes were sealed in clear view of polling agents and observers. At 9% polling stations the presiding officer did not count the received ballot papers before start of the polling while at 22% instances they did not make record of this counted number. The polling started at all polling booths in presence of the polling agents from major political parties.

The CED observers noted that the opening process generally remained calm and no untoward incident was reported at the sampled polling stations; no formal complaint was lodged during the opening process. However, the observers noted presence of unauthorized persons inside some polling stations before start of the polling. For instance, at polling stations #139 office bearers of a major political party were seen inside the premises and the polling staff did not ask them to leave, reported the CED observers.

The observers also reported about presence of party polling agents at the start of the polling. PML (N) had largest number of polling agents at male sampled polling booths with presence at 69% booths, while PTI polling agents covered largest number of 71% female sampled polling booths during the opening process. PPPP polling agents were present at 38% sampled male booths during the opening process.

About CED: CED is a civil society coalition for voter education, election observation and strengthening democratic institutions. Its secretariat is based at CPDI