ISLAMABAD: Delays in the formation of a Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms is making it difficult for the government to pacify the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf which has planned a march on Islamabad on August 14.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is yet to notify the formation of the proposed 33-member committee because he is still waiting for names from the Senate.

According to officials of the National Assembly and the Senate secretariats, Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari had asked the parties having representation in the upper house to submit names of their members by July 24 which he would forward to the speaker.

The officials believe that it is unlikely that the committee will be able to start functioning before Eid holidays.

Moreover, sources told Dawn that the committee’s working could be further delayed even after its notification since no understanding had been reached between the government and the opposition on the name of its chairman.

A senior opposition leader, who is privy to behind-the-scene moves on the issue, claimed that the government was considering to appoint Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid as head of the committee.

List of 22 MNAs for electoral reforms committee sent to speaker

But, he said that Mr Hamid would not be acceptable to most of the opposition parties which considered him a controversial person because of the fact that he was the law minister when retired Gen Pervez Musharraf imposed an emergency in the country in 2007.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had written to the NA speaker on June 10, asking him to constitute a parliamentary committee comprising members of both houses of parliament to take up the issue, apparently as a move to pacify the PTI which has strong reservations over the results of last year’s elections and has been demanding election reforms.

Mr Sharif had suggested that the proposed committee should present recommendations on ensuring free and fair elections, establishment of caretaker government and use of modern technology in polls.

Last week the government and the opposition had agreed on a formula for the representation of both the houses of parliament in the committee. A meeting attended by the NA speaker and the Senate chairman had decided that there would be 22 MNAs and 11 senators in the committee.

When contacted, an official of the NA secretariat claimed that the speaker had received names of 22 MNAs.

The parliamentary leaders of opposition and government-allied parties had already agreed that the committee would be constituted on the basis of the parties’ strength in the two houses. According to the formula, the PML-N will have seven members, the PPP four and the PTI three.

It is learnt that the PML-N has nominated a number of ministers, including Ishaq Dar, Zahid Hamid, Abdul Qadir Baloch and Anusha Rehman and the PPP has named Aitzaz Ahsan, Raza Rabbani, Syed Naveed Qamar and Shazia Marri.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2014