ISLAMABAD: Observing that the law in its present form only protects the interests of political actors who want to perpetuate the status quo, leaders of 15 political parties on Thursday called for making direct elections to the Senate and on reserved seats for women and non-Muslims as a part of the electoral reforms package.

They also called for the introduction of a proportionate representation system. Expressing their reservations on the Draft Elections Bill 2017, the leaders urged the government to initiate a structured engagement with important political parties to improve the draft so that it can reflect the will of the people.

The leaders of political parties who were not represented in the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms gathered in Islamabad and discussed the draft to furnish their recommendations.

They were of the view that the draft bill needed further improvement as it did not capture the spirit of Article 218 (3) of the Constitution that ensured autonomy and independence of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the landmark verdict of the Supreme Court in the Workers Party case of 2012.

The leaders said any law that did not guarantee complete independence and unbridled autonomy cannot ensure free, fair, transparent and just elections as required by the Constitution.

The participants also expressed concerns on the procedure of the selection of ECP members and the caretaker setup. They advocated for making public the minutes of the meetings between the leader of the house and leader of the opposition on the appointment of the commission members and the caretaker setup. They emphasised that a bipartisan approach should not be used to protect the status quo.

The participants also expressed their views on the census and delimitation of constituencies. The leaders from Balochistan expressed concerns over the displacement of people in the province due to the insurgency and called for their early return to their native areas.

The meeting was facilitated by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) as a part of its ongoing efforts to advocate for an improvement to the draft legislation. The participants endorsed Fafen’s recommendations for further improving the draft bill.

They had also a consensus view on the need for introducing effective and practical checks on the use of money in elections and the urgency to boost voter registration of women and other marginalised groups, especially in remote areas of Balochistan, Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and urban Sindh.

Those who attended the meeting were: Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, President Balochistan National Movement; Dr Jahanzeb Jamaldini, Senator of Balochistan National Party (Mengal); Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, General Secretary Pakistan Awami Tehreek; Syed Yousuf Shah, spokesperson for Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Sami); Dr Safdar Ali Abbasi, President Pakistan People’s Party (workers); Farooq Tariq, spokesperson for Awami Workers Party; Syed Hafeezuddin of Pak Sarzameen Party, Adnan Haider Randhawa, Chairman Aam Admi Party; Bostan Ali from Hazara Democratic Party, Mian Qayoom, Chairman Labour Qaumi Movement; Nasir Sherazi, Secretary Political Affairs Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen; Pir Jamil Nasir Hashmi, Senior Vice President Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (Noorani); Rashid Ali Daudpota, Media Secretary Awami Tehreek (Sindh); Shahzeb Dhareja from Saraikistan Democratic Party and Lateef Ansari from Sanjh Tehreek.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2017