ISLAMABAD, Aug 14: The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has been made a party by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to a petition regarding the new, computerised voters’ list and its representative is expected to present Fafen’s opinion on the issue before the court on Thursday.

Fafen secretary general Sarwar Bari will make a presentation before the SC on the plans of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for improving the voters’ list on the basis of Fafen’s recent technical audit of the draft electoral roll as well as its recommendations, says a handout issued here on Tuesday,

Fafen is a coalition of 30 leading Pakistani civil society organizations. It was established last year to observe the election process, educate voters and advocate for electoral and democratic reforms.

Fafen believes that efforts to increase the completeness of the voters’ lists are essential, but should not be allowed to compromise the accuracy of the roll and, therefore, the integrity and legitimacy of the electoral process.

More than 250 Fafen representatives conducted a technical audit of the draft electoral roll assessing the list through internationally-tested methodologies. Fafen concluded that the new roll is “highly accurate,” though incomplete. The names on the list are of real eligible voters, and their details are listed correctly on the electoral roll.

However, more than 25 per cent of households are missing entirely from the list, and one or more eligible voters in most households in the country are absent from the roll.