About the 2013 Pakistan Mission

The 2013 Pakistan election observation mission was a joint effort of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL). The mission consists of 48 observers from 18 countries. Observers were deployed to 12 locations in Islamabad and three of the nation’s four provinces, visiting more than 250 polling locations.

NDI is a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that supports and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. NDI has been observing elections in Pakistan since 1988 and conducts ongoing programs in the country to strengthen political parties and increase political participation among women and youth. For more information about NDI please visit their website, www.ndi.org.

ANFREL is a network of 21 citizen election observation organizations from 15 countries across Asia. Since 1997, ANFREL has worked to advance the cause of electoral democracy in Asia through election observation, civil society development, and election-related advocacy and campaign work. ANFREL observed Pakistan’s general elections in 2002. ANFREL maintains independence from its host countries’ members when observing elections internationally. The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in Pakistan is an ANFREL member, but it is not formally involved in the NDIANFREL mission. For more information about ANFREL please visit their website, www.anfrel.org.

Both NDI and ANFREL are signatories of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.