ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Pakistan's election commission under the Musharraf regime cannot be expected to be impartial in elections set for next week, the Human Right Watch warned.
The New York rights organization said Monday the commission has failed since President Pervez Musharraf's re-election last year to act on allegations of irregularities and as such its role in next week's polls cannot be considered impartial.
"The structure of the commission, which has wide powers to investigate complaints and take action, also suggests it will not rule fairly in the election," the group said.
Since November of last year, Human Rights Watch said the commission has ignored such issues as the arrest and harassment of opposition candidates and party members "to the advantage of candidates backed by President Pervez Musharraf."
Brad Adams, the rights group's Asia director, said there also have been several complaints of improper state assistance to the ruling party and illegal interference with opposition activities.
"But the election commission has done nothing significant to address these problems, raising serious questions about its impartiality," he said.
