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The Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms has decided to expedite work on amending election laws ahead of general elections due later this year, with local media reporting it examined dozens of proposed changes during a meeting this week.
According to local media, the decision to speed up work on proposed reforms was taken during an in-camera meeting of the committee. Reportedly, the committee has decided to deliberate on and finalize all proposed reforms by next week so amendments to the Election Act could be approved by both houses of Parliament before the National Assembly is dissolved next month.
Economic Affairs Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq serves as the chairman of the parliamentary committee, which includes Law Minister Azam Tarar, Fehmida Mirza, Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar, Senator Taj Haider, MNA Afzal Dhandla, Senator Manzoor Ahmed, and Senator Kamran Murtaza as its members. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s secretary also attended this week’s meeting.
In an informal chat with media after the meeting, Sadiq stressed that the committee’s sole job was to make electoral reforms. “We will review the contentious issues on Thursday (today), besides drafting the agreed-upon proposals. The controversial issues which need further discussion will be examined on Monday,” he said, adding the aim was to ensure the transparent conduct of elections. He also lamented that several controversies had arisen due to the conduct of the judiciary under the tenure of former chief justice Saqib Nisar and the committee hoped to nullify them through the reforms.
Reportedly, the committee is considering proposals to set a deadline for presiding officers to compile results, with penalties for the officials concerned if the process is delayed. As part of this, a proposed measure calls for the presiding officer to submit a copy of the signed result to the returning officer. Another proposal has suggested providing polling agents with smartphones to allow them to submit photographs of results in a bid to avoid delays.
The committee has also proposed countering persistent complaints of poll rigging by installing CCTV cameras at all polling stations to assist in the counting and compilation of results. This, it has been suggested, could also be used to address complaints by using the footage as evidence.
The committee has further suggested increasing the limit for election expenses of candidates from Rs. 4 million to Rs. 10 million for the National Assembly, and from Rs. 2 million to Rs. 4 million for provincial assemblies. Another proposal called for a jail term of six months to 3 years for any election staff found guilty of rigging elections. It was further suggested that decisions on violations of the code of conduct should be delivered within seven days rather than the earlier 15 days.
According to sources, it has also been proposed that a final list of polling staff should be uploaded on the ECP website to allow candidates to challenge any appointment within 10 days of its unveiling. Similarly, it has been suggested the complete voters’ list should be posted outside each polling station and security personnel deployed outside polling stations should be permitted to enter polling stations with the permission of the presiding officer in case of any emergency.