Vote bank: Expats should have voting rights, says PM

He says expatriate Pakistanis should also have the right to be a member of parliament.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party believes that expatriate Pakistanis should not only have the right to vote but also eligible for being a member of parliament. This statement was made by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf while speaking to a delegation led by Chaudhry Javed Iqbal and comprising expatriate Pakistanis based in London who called on him at the Prime Minister’s House on Saturday evening. The Prime Minister said that since granting right of representation to expatriate Pakistanis who hold dual nationalities involves an amendment in the Constitution, PPP cannot bring about the amendment as it does not have the required numerical strength in the parliament. The premier further said that the government is still striving to bring about a consensus so that the Constitution can be amended and expatriate Pakistanis given the right to contest elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2012.