February 28, 2007	Wednesday	Safar 10, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 27: Norway has pledged $2 million for a UNDP-funded project to support electoral process in Pakistan.

According to a press release issued here on Tuesday by the UNDP, Norway’s contribution will be channelled through the Basket Fund Modality to the forthcoming national elections.

The primary areas of support of the UNDP project are: voter registration; training of polling staff and party agents; and voter education.

Other areas of support include facilitating a forum for meetings between the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and various political parties; fostering improvements in the results process and electoral complaint resolution mechanism.

Norway has been associated with development cooperation in Pakistan since 1968. The main areas of cooperation are education, governance, culture and human rights, with a strong focus on gender equality and mainstreaming.

Commenting on the occasion, secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan Kanwar Dilshad said, “we appreciate the engagement and cooperation of donors for the common objective of free, transparent and credible elections.”

Janis Bjorn Kanavin, the Norwegian Ambassador, stated that “Norway’s contribution to Pakistan though modest is strategic in terms of its focus. It is appreciative of the energetic civil society and engaging citizenry, especially when it comes to politics.”

“The contribution is a step towards informed citizenry and strengthened ECP to be able to coordinate with all stakeholders to achieve their mutual objectives of maximum participations by all for a free and fair electoral process,” he added.