The bill would now be referred to the Senate for discussion and approval. The bill consolidates eight election laws that would stand repealed once it becomes an act of Parliament. Soon after the passage of the bill, the PTI members staged a walkout, saying their many recommendations have not been incorporated in the bill.
According to amendment in clause 13 (a) after sub-clause (1), the following sub-clause (2) shall be inserted: "The presiding officer shall immediately take snapshot of the result of count and, as soon as connectivity is available and it is practicable, electronically send it to the Commission and returning officer before sending the original document under Section 90."
The Commission shall take necessary measures to minimize possibility of printing of fake ballot papers and, for the purpose, shall also examine the possibility of using special water-marked paper for printing of ballot papers, the bill says.
The bill also says if election expenses of a candidate are disputed, the Commission may conduct an inquiry to ascertain whether the election expenses, incurred by any person other than the candidate, were incurred with his permission and if the expenses were incurred without his permission, it would not be deemed to be election expenses on behalf of the candidate.
Wealth statement to be filed by a member shall in the same form as is submitted under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. Also, local government constituencies shall be delimited by delimitation committees set up by the ECP for every district, the bill says.
The chief election commissioner would have full financial powers, including powers to create posts within approved budgetary allocations. The ECP is also being empowered to make rules without prior approval of the President or the government. However, such rules would be subject to prior publication, seeking suggestions within 15 days of such publication, it says.
According to the bill, the ECP will take special measures to encourage participation of women in the electoral process, including registration of women voters and actual voting on polling day. If the variation in the number of men and women voters in a constituency is more than 10 percent, special measures will be taken by the ECP to reduce such variation, the bill says.
The bill says the presiding officer will submit gender-segregated figures of voters in each polling station. If the turnout of women voters is less than 10 per cent of the total votes polled in the constituency, the ECP may presume that women have been restrained through an agreement from casting their votes and may declare polling at one or more polling stations, or election in the whole constituency as void.
If the victory margin between the returned candidate and runner-up candidate is less than 5 percent of the total votes polled or 10,000 votes, whichever is less, the returning officer shall recount all the votes on the request of a contesting candidate before commencement of the consolidation of the results.
In case of equality of votes between the two candidates, both will be declared returned candidates and each shall become member for half of the term of the assembly, it says.
The ECP shall prepare a comprehensive action plan four months before the elections specifying all legal and administrative measures that have been taken or are required to be taken, it says. It is also being authorized to redress complaints and grievances during various stages of the election process (other than challenge to the election itself under Article 225), its decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The ECP shall delimit constituencies after every census and NADRA (National Database Registration Authority) will transmit relevant data of every CMG issued by it to the ECP so every citizen who obtains a CNIC (computerized national identity card) from NADRA can automatically be enrolled as voter at his permanent or temporary address on the basis of his option in the application for issuance of CNIC, the bill says.
Hard and soft (in USB-MF format) copies of electoral rolls (with photographs of voters) will be provided to all candidates on payment ensuring that these are the same copies as available with the returning officer and presiding officers, it says. The bill provides, as far as practicable, distance between a polling station and voters assigned to it, shall not exceed one kilometer and list of polling stations and polling scheme shall be published at least 30 days before the polling day.
The ECP is also being empowered to install surveillance cameras at highly sensitive polling stations for remote monitoring of activities in such polling stations. According to the bill, functions of the caretaker government have been confined to day-to-day, routine, non-controversial matters and shall not take major policy decisions except of urgent nature. Political parties are required to allot at least five percent tickets against general seats to female candidates.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017