ISLAMABAD: Democracy Reporting International (DRI) in collaboration with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will launch a comprehensive Election Guide on July 5 in Islamabad.
The guide has been developed with a view to facilitate domestic and international observers as well as media and civil society.
It provides an up to date summary of key features of electoral framework in Pakistan encompassing constitutional and legal provisions related to process of election.
The guide is based on improvements made in the legal framework through Elections Act 2017 that was an outcome of long and multi-partisan efforts aimed at electoral reforms.
The guide, besides referring to international standards, provides sources of further information to equip the media, civil society, citizens and other actors engaged in the electoral process with detailed knowledge regarding different aspects and phases of elections.
Different phases of an electoral process from candidacy nominations to campaign and preparations for Election day to polling, counting and the results process are elaborated in the light of country's legal framework.
Other relevant matters like caretaker governments, Electoral Roll, delimitation, electoral dispute resolution, election security and electoral offences are also discussed in the guide while the participation of women, minorities and persons with disabilities was given special attention.
The guide has a dedicated section to cover media-related aspects of elections like coverage of elections. It extends tips for media reporting whereas it also points out potential Issues for consideration of Journalists while covering the General Elections 2018.
The launch event will be followed by provincial launch events with the aim to promote awareness and receive stakeholders feedback to improve the overall election process.