Sub-committee on electoral reforms finalises recommendations

The sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms on Wednesday concluded its recommendations related to the future electoral process in the country. The committee met for the 92nd session with its convenor Zahid Hamid, Minister for Law and Justice, in the chair to conclude its work and will forward its final report to the main committee for consideration.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Zahid Hamid said that committee member Chaudhry Tariq Qaiser has shared some recommendations with the panel related to the seats reserved for minorities in the Parliament which also sought dual vote casting for minorities similar to the people of Kashmir.
However, he said that the matters related to the dual vote casting for minorities, as well as the proposals related to direct elections of the senators, women and minorities members by abolishing the existing procedure of reserved quotas, were referred to the main committee, as it requires constitutional amendment. He said that the committee also recommended providing latest machines to Printing Corporation of Pakistan for printing electoral rolls, adding the machines will be installed at the Corporation by February next year so that the process of printing could be completed well before the next general election.
He said that Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also informed the committee that it is considering the watermarked ballot papers for the next general elections while the current bye-election in Karachi are being held through biometric system as a test case.
The committee in its recommendations has given full financial powers to the chief election commissioner as demanded by many political parties with a view to fully empower the ECP.
The law minister further said that the committee also recommended that there should not be more than 1,200 voters for casting votes in a single poling station across the country and not more than 300 voters on a voting booth. He said that every candidate would be provided the copy of voters' list. He said that the sub-committee had tried its level best to evolve consensus on all the issues and those matters that are yet to be resolved will be forwarded to the main committee headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
About the intra-party elections, he said that the issue could not be resolved as one political party was not ready to fix a six-year period for the intra-party elections. However, he added that the main committee would decide whether to fix the intra-party elections be held after every four years or six years.
He further said that the committee also agreed on fixing confiscation of surety bond of any contesting candidate if he/she fails to get one-fourth of the total vote cast, which is currently being confiscated if the candidate fails to get one-eighth of the total votes cast.