Parliamentary committee is vying to achieve constitutional remedy for the procedural flaws in our electoral system.
LAHORE: The history of successful democracies in the world shows that it has been a fruit of the evolution and maturity of the political system of a country. In a generous display of respect for democratic norms, the government has given consent for the formulation of an electoral reforms parliamentary committee and thus is duly supporting democracy in the country. The parliamentary committee is vying to achieve the constitutional remedy for the procedural flaws in our electoral system. All political stakeholders are provided with this vital opportunity to make a meaningful contribution for improving the electoral process and thus to cement the democratic system in the country.
Through its 33 members, the committee will proportionately represent all parliamentary political parties and thus would have the potential to produce consensus-oriented reform proposals. The committee comprises 22 members from the National Assembly and 11 members from the Senate, and includes members from both the opposition and the government. The ruling PML-N will have seven members , the PPP four, and three each from the MQM and the PTI, while the remaining four coming from the smaller parties. The committee will ensure that all the stakeholders reach a consensus to give comprehensive recommendations to effect electoral reforms. Its mandate is not only to propose electoral reforms, but also recommend constitutional amendments, if needed, to facilitate election reform.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, instead of wasting their energies on futile exercises causing public inconvenience, should utilise this opportunity to provide its own recommendations. It is high time that those protesting outside Parliament on this very important issue actually provided input inside the legislature.
The committee will have three months at its disposal to discuss, agree upon, formulate and then present its proposals to the speaker of the National Assembly who will then table them before the full house.
The committee can also consult the report of a subcommittee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law, which was constituted in 2011 to suggest amendments to electoral laws, and also of a Senate Special Committee constituted for the same purpose in 2013. It is hoped that the government’s sincerity to effect electoral reforms through the proper channel of parliamentary platform is reciprocated by the political parties with similar sincerity and concern for the country.
Faizan Rashid Malik
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2014.
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