The project envisages advocacy based on the Best Practices identified in SAHR’s book entitled ‘Inclusive Electoral Process’, including consultations with Parliamentarians, CSOs’ and the Media. It also would involve the release of these best practices to authorities and a lobby for its adherence. More specifically SAHR will survey how minorities are affected during election time and monitor how the process is being misused and the findings would be used to revise the guidelines on ‘Inclusive Electoral Process’

This report is the outcome of the three day regional workshop convened by SAHR from 5-7 December 2007 in Kathmandu, Nepal with experts in the fields of human rights and electoral process. Experts invited from the region included a mix of election commissioners, political party representatives, election monitors, journalists and lawyers. The workshop identified possible interventions SAHR, as a regional human rights collective, could undertake in the area of electoral reform.

The objectives of the workshop were as follows:

To identify possible interventions by SAHR in electoral reform in the region

To share experiences within the region on conducting free and fair elections

To examine mechanisms including modern technology that can make the electoral process transparent

To convene a regional pool of experts on electoral process and election monitoring

As a precursor to the workshop the SAHR Secretariat prepared a background paper which set out issues that would be the focus of the Regional Workshop of Experts on Inclusive Electoral Processes. The first section of the paper provides a short background on each country which contextualises the issues that are discussed in the second section; it flags important issues and provides relevant country examples.

Download: Inclusive Electoral Process

Minorities in Pakistan can be loosely defined by religion, gender, and location. The largest minority group within the country ironically comprises of almost half the population: women. Women are considered a minority due to their suppression within the electoral process – whether as voters or elected representatives – and their general absence in the public and private sphere in a male dominated society.

95% of Pakistan’s population is Muslim while the remaining 5% is comprised of Hindus, Christians, Parsis, Ahmadis and a few other denominations. Ahmadis follow the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmed that deviate from the fundamentals of Islam.4 Due to these variations, Ahmadis are not considered Muslim and ostracized in predominantly Muslim countries such as Pakistan. Hindus and Christians face a similar fate in this country due to their religious beliefs and issues become exacerbated due to minimal or zero representation of these communities. (more…)