Transparency in Senate polls: Multiparty confab to garner support for amendment

PM to discuss formation of judicial commission and resolution of govt-PTI row at APC today

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will chair an all parties conference (APC) today (Friday) to secure the support of all political leaders for a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at preventing ‘horse-trading’ in the upcoming Senate elections.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s House on Thursday said the APC will be convened after Friday prayers. The main focus of the confab will be to get all political parties to approve the 22nd Amendment Bill, sources close to the premier told The Express Tribune.

However, they added that the APC will have a supplementary agenda as well – the government will also discuss the formation of the judicial commission demanded by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to probe rigging in the May 2013 general elections with the leaders of all parties.

According to the sources, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has agreed to help canvas support from other political leaders for the 22nd amendment. They said that if APC approves the draft of the proposed amendment, a session of the National Assembly would be summoned immediately, either on Saturday or Monday, to pass it.

The 22nd Amendment Bill seeks to amend articles 59(1), 63A and 226 of the Constitution to make Senate elections more transparent. If passed, elections for the upper house will be held through open ballot rather than secret ballot and lawmakers who digress from their party’s line while voting will be disqualified ‘on grounds of defection’.

On Thursday, a federal government committee – headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and comprising Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt and cabinet members Barrister Zafarullah Khan and Anusha Rehman – called on PTI leaders Jahangir Tareen, Arif Alvi, Pervez Khattak and Omer Sarfraz Cheema to hand over both an invite to the APC and draft of the 22nd Amendment Bill.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Dar and Tareen said both the government and PTI have agreed that Senate elections should be conducted through open ballot. Tareen said PTI would hold consultations on the draft they had received and would get back to the government soon.

Cheema, meanwhile, said that PTI would only come back to the National Assembly once the government formed the judicial commission. He added that PTI would also decide to take part in the APC following consultation among its leadership.

According to sources, during the meeting Dar told Tareen that the government will discuss the formation of the judicial commission at the APC. They said if the APC was able to resolve the deadlock between the government and PTI, the former would announce the judicial commission at the end of the conference.

The sources also said the PTI leaders told Dar that they would hand over the invite to the APC to party chief Imran Khan for a decision. Following the joint investigation team’s revelations on the Baldia Factory fire incident, the PTI chief had announced the party would not participate in any APC or forum if the Muttahida Qaumi Movement was attending it as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2015.