Poll discrepancies: Parties share reform committee nominees

Ruling party to unveil seven names within a day or two.

ISLAMABAD:

Political groupings have begun nominating their representatives for the committee that will evaluate the shortcomings of the previous elections and draw up their recommendations for electoral reforms.

As the controversy surrounding the May 2013 elections still hovers and political parties plan to stage rallies against alleged electoral fraud, the committee seeks to chalk out the future of the electoral process and look into allegations of rigging and other discrepancies pointed out by political parties.

Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah nominated Senator Aitizaz Ahsan and Senator Raza Rabbani along with MNAs Naveed Qamar and Shazia Marri for the committee. The Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) has appointed Senator Talha Mahmud and MNA Naeema Kishwar and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated Shireen Mazari, Shafqat Mehmood and Arif Alvi.

According to sources familiar with the development, PML-N leaders Ishaq Dar, Anusha Rehman, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Hakeem Baloch, Murteza Javed Abbasi , Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, and  Zahid Hamid would be a part of the electoral reforms committee.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Jamat-e-Islami MNA Sahibzada Tariqullah, nominated by his party to be part of the committee, said that smaller parties will be led by their members in the committee.

On June 10, the prime minister ordered the formation of such a committee and the motion was adopted by the National Assembly on June 21 and in the Senate on June 30.

While the PTI has been persistent in claims of electoral fraud, the party’s spokesperson Dr Shireen Mazari said that the committee has not been notified as yet, as the National Assembly speaker is currently out of the country. “We will have to see if the government is actually sincere or just buying time,” Dr Mazari told The Express Tribune.

The commission will have representation from political parties on the basis of their presence in both houses of parliament.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2014.