Foreign observation mission Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has officially released its report on Pakistan’s 2024 general elections, highlighting “conditions which appeared to limit fundamental political rights and impacted one party’s ability to fairly contest the election”.

“Additionally, it noted a shutdown of cellular services on election night, which reduced the transparency of the process and impacted the efficiency of receiving results,” a COG press release said on Tuesday.

The report had been the subject of some controversy after media reports suggested the Commonwealth had buried the report after finding the elections to be riddled with problems.

The COG noted areas for improvement and provided recommendations for strengthening the independence of the country’s democratic institutions, the press release said.

A “Letter of Transmittal”, written by COG Chairperson Dr Goodluck Jonathan and included in the report, noted the denial of election symbol to the PTI, the consecutive convictions of the party’s founder Imran Khan, and limitations on freedom of association and assembly.

It then said: “When looked at in isolation, some — though not all — of the arguments advanced by key institutions in support of their actions appear somewhat justifiable. Yet, collectively, it could not go unnoticed that these decisions consistently limited one party’s ability to contest the election on a level playing field.”

The COG chairperson wrote: “We noted with concern a number of factors in the pre-election period that significantly impacted the level playing field, most crucially the non-allocation of the bat symbol to PTI and the registering of PTI candidates as independents.

“While the for this decision had a basis in law, the negative consequences of this decision appeared vastly disproportionate to the offence this decision sought to address.”

The Supreme Court had revoked the PTI’s bat symbol just weeks before the elections over not holding its intra-party polls, forcing the party’s candidates to contest as independent candidates without a unified symbol.

Other “issues of concern” noted by the COG included Imran’s convictions in three separate cases days before the election. “There were also limitations on fundamental political rights, including freedom of association and assembly. These limitations were felt most acutely by PTI and its supporters,” the group said.

It also noted “limitations on journalistic freedoms, including in relation to freedom of speech and a culture of impunity for perpetrators of violence against journalists, which may have led to self-censorship”.

Forms-45 ‘may have been altered’

The 161-page report also mentioned the Forms-45 controversy that has been at the heart of rigging allegations levelled by the PTI during those elections.

“In several constituencies, the Group reviewed documentation that suggested that Form 45s may have been altered to change the total number of votes received by candidates, and that these altered forms were used to compile the tabulated results on Forms 47, resulting in some candidates being illegally returned as elected,” the COG report read.

It said the COG was informed that, in many cases, the Forms-45 submitted to the Returning Officer (RO) differed from the copies of Forms-45 “received at the polling station by agents of independent candidates and other party agents”.The COG also “reviewed documentation that appeared to show that a significant number of Forms 46 had been altered”.

Providing its assessment of the English-language media coverage, the COG noted that the mainstream media “broadly followed the principles of fair and accurate election reporting”.

“However, some sections of the media covered some candidates and political parties more favourably than they did others, with PTI-affiliated independent candidates receiving less positive coverage in national mainstream media.”

The report pointed out that state-owned PTV News “lacked balance, with the majority of its coverage concentrated on PML-N and the PPP — especially the former” — while PTI-affiliated independent candidates were not given as much coverage.

The COG said it was “informed that broadcasters were prevented from saying Imran Khan’s name, instead being instructed to refer only to the chair of PTI”.

Moreover, the group noted that “some English language newspapers published obvious campaign messages of PML-N and its leader on 7 February” despite the campaign period ending the day before.

The report also detailed the COG’s assessments on the pre-poll activities; the voting, counting and results process; the inclusion of women, youth, the transgender community and religious minorities; and the legal environment, including certain recent rulings and a letter by judges alleging interference.

“Jurisprudential inconsistencies in two of the most significant and consequential cases in the pre-election period had severe impacts in terms of the level nature of the playing field,” the COG said, specifying the SC’s reversal of the lifetime ban for politicians, and the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision, later upheld by the apex court, to withhold the bat symbol from PTI.

Reduction in voter registration gender gap

In its report, the COG also “commended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) efforts to ensure inclusive elections”.

“It noted the ECP’s expansion of its Gender and Social Inclusion Wing as a worthwhile endeavour, which contributed to a reduction in the voter registration gender gap from 12 per cent in 2013 to 7.7pc in the 2024 election.

“The group further noted the establishment of the ECP’s gender hotline for reporting election-related harassment and intimidation. There was also an improvement in youth voter turnout.”

The press release, citing the report, added that despite challenges, the “potential for improving future polls was encouraging”.

“The potential of Pakistan’s democracy is enormous. Pakistan has a vibrant and diverse media; women and the youth are more engaged than ever; and Pakistan’s CSOs play a critical role in the democratic life of the country, continually pushing for reform and improvement.”

The report proposed reforms to various aspects of the electoral process, including the legal framework and its interpretation, election administration, and laws impacting political rights, women’s participation, pre-election campaigns, and the role of the media, the press release said.

The COG noted areas for improvement and provided recommendations for strengthening the independence of the country’s democratic institutions, the press release said.

It further stated: “The group highlighted, among others, the conditions which appeared to limit fundamental political rights and impacted one party’s ability to fairly contest the election. Additionally, it noted a shutdown of cellular services on election night, which reduced the transparency of the process and impacted the efficiency of receiving results.”

The report concluded that these developments may have “impinged on the credibility, transparency and inclusiveness of the electoral process”.

‘Delayed’ report

According to the letter of transmittal appended to the report, it was submitted by the COG to the Commonwealth Secretary General on Nov 20, 2024. A press statement issued alongside the report did not explain the inordinate delay in its publication.

In September, the PTI had called on the COG to release this report, claiming that it laid bare “systemic rigging, institutional bias, and deliberate targeting of PTI and its founder, Imran Khan”.

However, in a statement issued on Sept 14, the COG said it was aware that a version of its report on the 2024 Pakistan general elections was circulating online, but that they did not comment on leaked documents as a matter of policy.

“The government and the Election Commission of Pakis­tan have already received the report. The full report, as we had communicated earlier, will be released later this month, along with a number of COG reports currently in the publication pipeline,” the COG statement said.

The PTI’s demand came after a recent report by the independent news outlet Drop Site News claimed that the COG had “buried their report” after finding the Feb 8 general elections to be riddled with problems.

Although the group’s report on Pakistan was yet to be officially released back then, media outlets claimed to have obtained leaked copies of the report.