The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) on Friday shared its observations that significant improvements were observed in general elections 2018 as Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) fully exercised its power under Elections Act 2017 to rigorously implement the rules and regulations.

Sharing the key findings and analysis of Fafen’s general election observation report 2018, Mudassar Rizvi said the ECP calmly managed many issues including delimitation.

Rizvi said the procedure of submission of nomination papers was also improved while a significant reduction in the prevalence of procedural irregularities was observed between general elections of 2013 and 2018.

According to the observation report, the enactment of Elections Act, 2017, provided fresh impetus to the ECP for improving the enforcement of legal and regulatory provisions in general elections 2018.

A significant decline in registration of irregularities was observed such as disregard of voter secrecy, incidence of violence, and polling station capture among others, read the report.

It claimed that no incident of "capture of polling station" was reported during the general elections 2018 as compared to the elections of 2013, where the observance of such incidents was reported as 1.2 per cent.

Fafen reported that unlike prior elections, the ECP introduced a specific code of conduct for security officials performing duties at polling stations in general elections 2018. "The enforcement of a clear code leads to a visible improvement in the conduct of security officials," it read.