ISLAMABAD, July 27 (INP):- Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), a non-profit NGO in its report issued here on Friday has declared the General Elections 2018 of Pakistan better than elections of 2013. According to the FAFEN report, despite complaints about vote counting process the elections were free, fair, transparent and accountable, in accordance with the requirements laid out in the Elections Act, 2017. More than half of Pakistan’s registered voters went to the polls on July 25, 2018 to mark the second consecutive democratic transition of power, clearing the uncertainties over the future of democracy in the country, it said. The report stated that the Election Day was better managed, relatively peaceful and free of any major controversy until late night concerns emerged over the transparency of the counting process, and the subsequent slow process of announcement of provisional results prompted some political parties to reject the election results. Despite issues with the Result Transmission System (RTS) set in place by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to meet the requirements of the new Election Law that was enacted in October 2017, the FAFEN has acknowledged significant improvements in the quality of critical electoral processes in the election cycle that inspired greater public confidence. The report further stated that with regard to voter registration, with a particular focus on increasing women enrollment on electoral rolls, and greater diligence in following legally defined principles in delimitation and effective enforcement of campaign rules, the Election Commission appeared to be more assertive in its attempt to deliver an improved quality of election. The Election Commission oversaw an unprecedented deployment of government employees on election duties, it said adding that for the first time, the Commission deployed independent Returning Officers (849) for all National and Provincial Assembly constituencies, which initially caused some procedural issues, such as in the finalization of polling schemes, but were timely addressed by the ECP. The deployment of as many as 371,000 armed forces personnel on election duties, despite questions from some political parties, ensured the peaceful conduct of election day amid heightened threats of subversive acts following the death of more than 150 people including two election candidates in separate suicide attacks in Peshawar, Dera Ismail (DI) Khan and Mastung. Four persons including three personnel of armed forces lost their lives in an attack near the border with Iran in Balochistan’s Kech district. Multiple ambushes against another election candidate in Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) only added to the public scare.