The Weekly Chronicle

The major findings of the observation included a decline in male voter turnout and violations of the Election Commission's Code of Conduct for Campaigning. Unauthorized persons used banned "panaflexes" and oversized campaign materials at public places to exert undue influence on voters and polling staff. Syed Ahmed Hussain Shah of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the by-election by securing 46,438 (51 percent) of the polled votes, while the runner-up candidate, Syed Mazhar Ali Qasim Shah of the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), received 39,945 (44 percent) of the polled votes. Comprehensive security arrangements had been made for the election, including the deployment of Pakistan Army and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras. TDEA-CVP conducted programmatic and operational pre-award assessments of potential partner organizations that submitted applications for Grants Cycle 14. The assessments included evaluations of financial management systems, governance structure, work history, and other indicators important for program implementation. These assessments will be an important factor in determining each organization's eligibility for grant. TDEA-FAFEN has begun preparations for the observation of a by-election in PP-218 Multan-VIII, anticipated to be held on March 31, 2019. The constituency became vacant due to the death of Mazhar Abbas Raan, a former Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) who belonged to PTI. PATTAN Development Organization, a prominent and experienced member of FAFEN, has appointed a focal person to coordinate preparatory activities with FAFEN, including the identification of 35 non-partisan citizen observers who will be trained and deployed to carry out the observation of polling processes on Election Day. The CVP Grants Management Committee (GMC) took note of the grant applications received from relevant civil society organizations for CVP Grants Cycles (GC) 14 and 15 by the stipulated deadline of March 6, 2019. The thematic areas of GC 14 and GC 15 include "Citizens' Education and Mobilization for Women's Voter Registration and Participation in Electoral Processes" and "Citizens' Observation for Transparent and Accountable Electoral Processes and Reforms in Pakistan," respectively. Both cycles were initiated under limited competition, with a total of 24 applications received (18 for GC 14 and six for GC 15). The applications will be subjected to rigorous technical review in the forthcoming week to determine their eligibility for award.