ISLAMABAD, DECEMBER 20, SPA -- Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Qazi Farooq has assured a visiting European Union delegation that January 8 parliamentary elections would be free, fair and transparent. Ambassador of Portugal Ramalho, who currently holds the EU Presidency, along with a 15-member team, held a detailed interaction with the CEC, said an official statement. The EU delegation stated that the European Commission had decided to send 50 observers for monitoring the general elections 2007-08 in Pakistan. The delegation will arrive in Pakistan on December 25. Farooq briefed the EU team on various election-related matters.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/511009