The electoral reforms are crucial ahead of 2018 general elections, he said, adding that the Election Commission of Pakistan needs to assert its role in managing and conducting the elections.
Parliamentarians and civil society representatives present on the occasion commended the efforts of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms (PCER) on presentation of the Draft Elections Bill, 2017 and urged the Parliament to consider key improvements to the draft legislation and its timely enactment ahead of the 2018 general election.
The bill is currently open for public comments till January 19, 2017. While presenting the interim analysis of the Draft Elections Bill 2017, Hassan Nasir Mirbahar, the DRI Country Representative in Pakistan highlighted the strengths and potential areas for improvements in line with international electoral standards. He emphasised that prompt passage of the Draft Elections Bill, 2017 is essential to allow sufficient time for its implementation. He also recognised the committee's initiatives of soliciting input from general public and key stakeholders to enhance the transparency of the process.
Civil society representatives also welcomed the PCER's initiative. Human rights activist IA Rehman recognised the reforms effort of the parliamentary committee and emphasised that the reforms should be enacted at the earliest. He mentioned that they have been delayed for a long time period; however, their timely enactment will ensure better elections. He added that further measures should be taken to give due representation to the minorities in Pakistan.
Free and Fair Election Network's (FAFEN) representative Rashid Chaudhry said that despite the laudable efforts of the PCER, the ECP rules for elections will require government approval under the draft bill, which may undermine the ECP's independence and the credibility of elections in Pakistan. Both IA Rehman and Rashid Chaudhry also stressed that the Parliament should ensure more transparent and inclusive committee sessions as well as greater public outreach so that people's recommendations can be duly reflected in the legislation.
The Draft Elections Bill, 2017 also suggests solutions to the longstanding issue of delimitation of electoral constituencies. Since the last census was conducted in 1998, the review of delimitation has remained unaddressed for over a decade. The DRI recognised that delimitation is to be conducted on the basis of electoral rolls in the absence of census data outdated by more than 10 years. This measure would be implemented for the 2018 elections and will contribute to safeguard equality of the vote.
While there are significant achievements of the PCER in preparing the Draft Elections Bill, 2017, the DRI stressed upon certain provisions that should be taken into consideration by the Parliament for amendments or additions prior to finalisation.
The DRI also reiterated concerns over the constraints on ECP powers to issue rules which it can only do after government's approvals. These approvals could potentially compromise the impartial, independent and neutral role of the ECP, decreasing transparency and public trust in election outcomes. The DRI also suggested reviewing the subjective candidacy criteria under article 62 and 63 of the Constitution.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017