Orientation Session On Code of Conduct of General Election 2024 for National Media and National Election Day Observers
Sungi Development Foundation and FAFEN organized a training workshop on the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan for the general elections in 2024.
Addressing the session the Spokesperson of ECP emphasized media personnel and Election observers inclusiveness and neutrality, stating that the Code of Conduct aims to ensure free and fair elections through collaboration with stakeholders.
Journalists and observers, including representatives from various civil societies and election observers, participated in the workshop. Regional Election Commissioner Zulfiqar Ahmed, District Election Officer Zeeshan Khan, and Regional Coordinator Sungi Development Foundation Shahid Aziz briefed the participants on the code of conduct.
During the election campaign, media content on print, electronic, and digital platforms should avoid expressing opinions prejudicial to Pakistan’s ideology, sovereignty, security, public order, or the integrity of the judiciary. Participants in the workshop raised questions to District Election Commissioner Zeeshan Khan about various stages of the elections, to which he provided professional answers.
Shahid Aziz, the Regional Coordinator of Sungi Development Foundation, Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) is the first-ever network of civil society networks in Pakistan dedicated to strengthening democracy through methodically-enacted observation and oversight of electoral, parliamentary, and governance processes. FAFEN is currently observing the general elections in 2024, and its long-term observers are actively involved in monitoring various stages of the electoral process in the 266 constituencies of the National Assembly.
On the day of the general elections, FAFEN is appointing over 6,000 impartial, non-political, and trained observers to observe the entire electoral process, including the counting process, after the polling concludes. These observers are selected to ensure transparency and adherence to the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission.
