When contacted, an ECP official confirmed the proposal and said it had been moved to facilitate the candidates who had vast constituencies. However, the proposal is still pending with the government as proper legislation is required to enhance the limit.
The ECP plans to finalise the administrative arrangements for next general elections by December 31, but is waiting for appropriate legislation to be passed by parliament before March 18 - the end of the current parliament's tenure.
The Commission has proposed to the government to legislate tripling of election campaign expenditures per candidate for the upcoming elections. The matter has been deliberated on in the National Assembly's Standing committee for the last three years but no recommendations have so far been placed in the House. At present, the matter is pending in Senate Standing Committee on Election which has yet to evolve any census on this.
The Commission recommended enhancing election campaign expenditures for provincial assembly candidates to Rs 30 million and for National Assembly candidates to Rs 50 million. At present the election campaign expenditure limit is Rs 1 million for PA candidates and Rs 1.5 million for NA candidates.
To a question on the recently approved Electoral Reform Bill by the federal cabinet, Secretary ECP Ishtiaq Ahmed said he did not have knowledge about the contents of the bill but some media reports did note that the clause of election expenditure was part of the said reform bill.
Justifying the proposal, an official informed this correspondent, that in certain constituencies in Balochistan and KP, the candidates have to go to remote and far-flung areas. Moreover, expenditures on holding meetings and processions also cost more than what it cost a decade ago. Therefore, when the candidates exceed the limits, they submit engineered figures to justify their expenditure, the official mentioned. ECP official however maintained that the Commission would be vigilant about election campaign expenditures and stated that in Bannu and Multan elections four teams each were deputed to monitor the candidates spending.
When asked about mechanism of assessing the expenditure, the official said teams were assigned to video rallies, processions and meetings, hoardings, billboards and wall chalking and the meals served at those congregations. Through this mechanism they could calculate spending to some extent. A number of proposals are with the legislators as the Commission awaits legislation on critical issues like political financing and making Code of Conduct for Elections, part of the Representation of the People Act.