Pre-Election Report PP-20 Chakwal-I By-Election

January 2018 Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) will observe the PP-20 Chakwal-I by-election which will be conducted under the new Elections Act, 2017 on January 9, 2018. This Provincial Assembly seat fell vacant on October 30, 2017 due to the death of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz's (PML-N) Chaudhry Liaquat Ali Khan During the 2013 General Elections (GE), Khan won the PP- 20 seat by securing 39 percent of the polled votes, while an Independent candidate, Chaudhry Ijaz Hussain Farhat, FAFEN to was the runner-up securing 22 percent of the polled votes. FAFEN will deploy 48 (36 men and 12 women) trained, non-partisan and independent citizen observers to Observe Chakwal observe the polling process on Election-Day. These trained observers will observe voting, counting and consolidation processes using detailed standardized checklists based on the rules and procedures stipulated in By-Election the Elections Act, 2017 and Elections Rules, 2017. Moreover, FAFEN observers will also collect Result of the Count (Form-45) and Ballot Paper Account (Form-46) with 48 Trained from each of the observed polling stations. During the pre-election campaign period in PP-20, FAFEN observers witnessed several violations by the PMLN and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidates of the Election Citizen-Observers Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) Code of Conduct for political parties. However, the overall political environment of the constituency remained peaceful. FAFEN observers conducted interviews of contesting candidates and their representatives during the pre- election period. Awami National Party's (ANP) candidate complained about the use of loudspeakers and oversized FREE AND FAIR ELECTION NETWORK campaign banners by PML-N and PTI candidates. The ANP www.fafen.org I www.openparliament.pk I www.parliamentfiles.com

+fafenorg @_fafen fafen.org By-Election PP-20 Chakwal-I Pre-Election Report candidate also accused the PML-N lawmakers and the local Polling Stations governments of favouring the ruling party's candidate. Both the PMLN and PTI candidates were observed using loudspeakers despite a ban on their use during the campaign period. by-Election 2018 A total of five candidates are contesting the by-polls in PP-20. Sultan Haider Ali Khan is contesting the by-election on the PML-N's ticket, whereas PTI has awarded its ticket to Tariq Mehmood Afzal. ANP has fielded Imran Qaiser Abbas. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan 61 61 105 227 (TLP) is fielding Chaudhry Nasir Abbas for the election. An Female Male Combined Total independent candidate Muhammad Tufail is also in the run for the constituency. GENeral Election 2013 This by-election will be the first in the country being held under the new unified election law, the Elections Act, 2017. According to Section 59(6) of the Act, the District Returning Ocer (DRO) is required to issue the List of Polling Stations to be set up in the 72 constituency at least thirty days prior to polling day. The DRO in PP- 63 63 198 20 issued the List of Polling Stations on December 12, 2017, which is Female Male Combined Total 28 days before the polling day. According to Section 59(3) of the Elections Act 2017, the ECP will not assign more than twelve hundred voters to a polling station and not Polling Booths more than three hundred voters to a polling booth, while reasons for any deviation will be justified in writing. However, more than 1,200 voters have been assigned to as many as 116 polling stations in the List of Polling Stations issued by the DRO. The maximum number of Total voters assigned to a polling station is 2,024. On average, 1,231 voters have been assigned to each polling station. The DRO has not stated 393 814 421 the rationale for this deviation on the ocial copy of the List of Female Male Polling Stations. The ECP has set up 227 polling stations including 61 polling stations Registered Voters each for men and women, and 105 combined polling stations. A total of 814 polling booths – 421 for men and 393 for women – are being 279,530 established for the polling day. As many as 1,916 election ocials 250,385 including 227 Presiding Ocers (PrOs) and 814 Assistant Presiding Ocers (APOs) and Polling Ocers (POs) each, and 61 Naib Qasids 130,373 144,191 will perform election duties. The ECP will also pilot-test Electronic 120,012 135,339 Voting Machines (EVMs) at nine polling stations in the constituency.

PP-20 Chakwal-I covers the city area, and its adjoining rural areas as Male Female Total well as Bhoun town. There are 279,530 registered voters, including General Election 2013 By-Election 2018 144,191 (52%) men and 135,339 (48%) women. An increase of 11.6% has been recorded in the number of registered voters in the constituency after GE 2013. Who are FAFEN Observers? A consistent growth in the voter turnout has been recorded during FAFEN observers are registered the three previous elections. The turnout remained 53.08% during voters in the constituency. GE 2002, 57.50% during GE 2008 and 63.30% during GE 2013. They are NON-PARTISAN, The PML-N won the seat in 2008 and 2013 whereas the PML was TRAINED and ECP ACCREDITED victorious in 2002. The PML candidate, Chaudhry Ijaz Hussain Farhat, secured runner-up position in GE-2008. Farhat contested the seat in GE-2013 as an independent candidate and remained Total runner-up, while the PML-N won the constituency with a convincing Observers margin of 26,518 votes. 48