LAHORE, April 30: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) regrets that the irregularities witnessed during referendum exceeded its worst fears.

While a fuller report on the day-long polling will be released only after detailed communications from volunteers, who observed the process across the country, have been analysed, HRCP main findings on Tuesday are:

A vast majority of voters fell in the category of ‘captive voters’— prisoners (voting inside prisons was claimed to be 100 per cent), state and local bodies employees, factory workers (who were driven to the polling booths within the factory premises in controlled batches). Voluntary turnout was very low.

Women stayed away from polling stations in force. Among the small number of women who did turn up the majority belonged to municipal staff.

The voters marshalled by local councillors enjoyed the freedom to vote as many times as they wished. In one compound there were 11 polling stations and many cast their voters at each of them. The polling stations were arranged in clusters obviously to facilitate multiple voting. At many places ink was not applied to voters’ thumbs and in any event the dye did not prove to be indelible.

The fiction of voter identification was scarcely respected. Councillors and municipal employees issued blank photocopied chits that were treated as identity cards. Some foreigners were also allowed to cast their votes.

At several places the councillors and chosen supervisors of election stamped ballots. At one station an assistant professor (presiding officer) was beaten up for resisting stuffing of ballot boxes. Reports of scuffles between councillors and polling staff were received from several towns.

Polling was supervised by councillors. Banners proclaimed that the polling station was under the supervision of councillor so and so or of a particular political faction.

Secrecy of ballot was rarely in evidence. Many voters were seen stamping the ballots before the polling staff. The sanctity of voting appeared to have been trivialized.

Although people were free to vote wherever they were, bus loads of people were seen casting votes scores of miles away from home and the pattern was noted in all provinces.

Transport was provided by councillors and the police. For instance a municipal worker showed a slip which announced that the vehicle carting voters was operating under an SP’s order.

Reports from Sindh indicate that even small children were forced to vote. In Frontier and tribal areas voters said they were obeying orders of officials and political agents.

“The HRCP is of the view that apart from anything else the manner in which the people were hustled into voting and the flagrant abuse of election procedures degraded the very concept of democratic choice. The people were given an experience that casts ominous shadows on their path to democratic revival.”