The February 8 election recorded a decline in fairness scores compared with the previous election, a report by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) showed on Wednesday.

The Pildat, a non-governmental election watchdog, released its assessment of the Elections 2024 stating that the polls recorded the lowest fairness score since 2013 amid irregularities and distrust in the electoral process.

The overall fairness of the 2024 elections in Pakistan received a score of 49%, a three percentage points lower score than that of the 2018 election, according to the Pildat report.

The fairness assessment score for the 2013 election was 57% while for the 2018 elections, the score stood at 52%.

The decline in the fairness score shows the weakening of the democratic processes in Pakistan, the election watchdog said.

The election watchdog urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct a thorough investigation into the delays and irregularities recorded during the elections, especially in result compilation, transmission, and consolidation.

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Pildat in its report also highlighted the delays in scheduling of the election, political repression, and lack of impartiality from caretaker governments and state institutions.

The watchdog said that the delay in the announcement of provisional results after polling was completed, raised serious questions over the credibility of the election.

It also mentioned widespread allegations of discrepancy between Forms-45 and Form-47 further fueling the debate surrounding the credibility of the election.

“The delay in the publishing of Forms 45, 46, 48 and 49 on the ECP website – a violation of Section 95 (10) of Elections Act, 2017 – has further damaged the credibility of the election.”

The Pildat recommended the ECP to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the delays in the transmission, consolidation, and announcement of provisional results.