ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) finally ended its boycott of the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms as all three members of the party who are members of the panel attended a meeting of a subcommittee after some eight months.

PTI members Dr Arif Alvi, Shafqat Mehmood and Shireen Mazari were members of the parliamentary panel when it was formed. They attended some initial meetings of the committee, but when their party MNAs tendered their resignations during the opposition sit-in outside Parliament House last year, they also abstained from the proceedings of the parliamentary committee.

Dr Arif Alvi told Dawn after the meeting that meaningful electoral reforms had been a consistent demand of the PTI.

He said the party was committed to playing an active role in the finalisation of the draft electoral law, meant to fill all loopholes to ensure that the electoral process is free, fair and transparent in the truest sense.

“It would be a national service if we play a vibrant role for meaningful legislation,” he remarked.

PTI members to review all proposals considered by committee during their eight-month absence

Shafqat Mehmood said all the recommendations made by the parliamentary panel on electoral reforms in the PTI members’ absence would be reviewed and the party will then come up with its suggestions.

The subcommittee of the parliamentary panel on electoral reforms, which met with former law minister Zahid Hamid in the chair, completed a review of the Representation of Peoples Act 1976 on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Hamid said the committee had decided to take the PTI members into confidence before finalising the draft of the electoral reforms.

The committee recommended to give the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) powers to try ‘in contempt’. The power to try ‘in contempt’ is already available under section 103-A of ROPA 1976, and the proposal would mean a change of wording.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that, in fact, the blanket contempt power will be taken away from the ECP and under the new wording it would only be available in specific cases. He said that pointing out any negligence on part of the ECP would not entail contempt proceedings. He said the proposed wording would be finalised in the next meeting.

The committee also decided to authorise the ECP to ban the transfer of government employees during the electoral process.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2015

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