Daily Times

Sir: Elections are the process through which members of a given community or state choose their leaders in a democratic society. Therefore, elections should be free and fair to ensure that elected representatives are acceptable to all members of the society.

Any election should give citizens all basic democratic freedoms, including the freedom to vote for or join the political party of their choice without having to fear intimidation. They should also have the right to keep information about who they voted for private.

Therefore, fair elections must have a process which is impartial and meets international democratic standards. Anyone who attempts to derail this process through intimidation or bribery is an enemy of democracy, and hence should be considered an enemy of the state.

Free and fair elections must be open to adults and the losers must accept the results graciously. The body conducting the election exercise must be impartial, transparent and able to enforce the electoral rules, especially the elector code of conduct.

All parties and candidates should be treated equally without discrimination or favour as only this enables the populations to have faith in the system. The election body should ensure that all candidates contest elections on an equal footing.

It’s therefore important to note that the party in power will certainly enjoy certain advantages in fields of government resources use of existing administrative structures and use of public media in this regard such advantages should be checked and remitted to try and ensure that all interested parties in the political arena enjoy the same privileges.

SUFYAN QADRI

Karachi

Published in Daily Times, July 9^th 2018.