THE ECP’s recent pledge to eliminate the gender gap among voters falls flat in the face of troubling revelations about women’s participation in the general elections. According to Pattan-Coalition 38, the turnout of women in multiple polling stations across KP, particularly in Buner, was zero on polling day. This brings into question the ECP’s commitment to enforcing electoral laws designed to protect women’s voting rights. The Commission’s defence that Section 9(1) of the Elections Act — which has to do with declaring a poll void in case of lower than 10pc turnout — is discretionary rather than mandatory shows a reluctance to tackle deep-rooted electoral discrimination. While technically correct in noting that the law uses “may” rather than “must”, this interpretation betrays the spirit of the legislation which is designed to combat the disenfranchisement of women voters. That Buner, which witnessed similar controversies in 2013, continues to see such practices, underscores the failure of poll reforms to create meaningful change. The ECP’s decision to declare results without investigating polling stations showing zero female turnout sets a dangerous precedent, effectively signalling that such practices can continue with impunity.

The election watchdog must recognise that its mandate extends beyond vote counting. It must ensure democratic participation for all citizens. Its current stance of focusing on constituency-wide percentages while ignoring localised voter suppression undermines the very purpose of the 10pc threshold requirement. Moving forward, clear protocols are needed for investigating polling stations with low women’s turnout, even when constituency averages meet minimum requirements. This should include mandatory inquiries into stations reporting zero female votes and stricter penalties for local authorities who fail to ensure women’s participation. Without these steps, the Commission’s promises of gender parity will remain empty rhetoric, and Pakistani democracy will continue to exclude half its population from meaningful participation.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024