Press Releases 2007
Text: Statement By U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson At The Election Commission Of Pakistan
11/06/2007
The United States remains committed to supporting free, fair and credible elections in Pakistan.
I
met today with the Election Commissioner to reiterate strong U.S.
interest in ensuring that parliamentary elections take place as planned
in January.
The United States is working to strengthen
democratic institutions that will establish a stable and democratic
future for the people of Pakistan. The United States has provided more
than $26 million in bilateral and multilateral program assistance in
Pakistan for voter education, political party development,
computerization of the voting rolls, training of political poll
watchers, and domestic and international election observation missions.
The last 80,000 of the 430,000 transparent ballot boxes we and the
Japanese have purchased will be delivered by December 9. As of November
20, we plan to have our long-term independent election observers on the
ground. We have been offering Pakistani journalists training in how to
effectively report elections. We are helping the Election Commission
publish the voter list on their website.
Our goal is to help
Pakistan hold free, fair, and credible elections in which the people
can choose their own leaders. But for elections to be credible,
opposition political party leaders and their party workers must be
released from jail or house arrest. The media must be free to report on
events and share their opinions with the public.
I urged the
Commissioner to announce the election schedule as soon as possible to
reassure the people of Pakistan and the international community that
the government remains committed to holding elections on schedule. We
also expect President Musharraf to step down as Chief of Army Staff and
begin his promised transition to civilian democratic rule.
As President Bush has said, we urge President Musharraf to restore democracy as quickly as possible.