Government seeks to boost women's participation in politics

In a bid to increase participation of women as voters and candidates in elections, the government on Tuesday decided that political parties would be required to allot five percent tickets to women candidates. Briefing media after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid along with State Minister for Information Marrium Aurangzeb said the government has decided to increase facilities for voters and candidates.
For instance, he said, surveillance cameras will be installed at sensitive polling stations. For the candidates, a mandatory recount will be allowed but just once. "If a candidate's margin of victory is less than 5% then he or she will have the right to demand a recount," he added.
He said that special measures would be undertaken to encourage enlistment of women voters in case there is a difference of more than ten percent in the number of male and female votes. Political parties would be required to allot five percent tickets to women candidates, he added.
Moreover, a large number of parties have been enlisted with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), despite having less supporters, he added. "A minimum number will be set for supporters of each party for them to be listed with ECP." The Cabinet meeting also shed light on the participation of women as voters and candidates in the elections, he said, adding it has been decided that at least 5% of the tickets should be given to female candidates.
For voters, it has been decided that at least 10% of the votes from a constituency should be from women. "This would be done so that there is no presumption that women were barred from voting [in that constituency]." The minister said if it is proved that women are barred from voting then ECP has the authority to declare election in that constituency void.
He said that recommendations for electoral reforms have been prepared with consensus by the parliamentary committee, adding the sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms would mull over required constitutional amendments before presentation of reforms in the Parliament for a necessary legislation.
Giving details, he said the recommendations envisage total financial, administrative and functional autonomy for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), adding the Commission would be required to prepare a comprehensive action plan for polls six months ahead of elections to seek input and objections from the political parties and candidates. A formal complaint system would be introduced to lodge complaints about malpractices before elections and their redressal.
He said that votes would be counted and results compiled at the polling stations and the Form-14 containing results would be transmitted to the returning officers and the ECP through a mobile application to ensure prompt transmission of results. In case the victory margin is less than five percent or ten thousand votes, the losing candidate can demand a recount then and there and a recount would be mandatory, he added.
"A uniform system of printing of ballot papers would be introduced...under the reforms package, the name of each citizen would be automatically registered as a voter once he/she is issued a computerised national identity card [CNIC]," he added.
Replying to questions, Marrium said 46 modern hospitals would be established in different parts of the country. She said compensation for each martyred during Indian firing on the Working Boundary has been increased to Rs 500,000 and Rs 150,000 for each seriously injured person.
Reuters adds: Under Pakistan's constitution, women are guaranteed seats through a quota system in the national parliament and regional assemblies in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
At present, 60 out of 342 seats in the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, are reserved for women with a further 137 seats reserved for women in the four provincial assemblies. However the reforms will pave the way for more women politicians. Women's rights campaigners welcomed the move by the cabinet of ministers, headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but said the quota should be increased. "Various studies have shown that women elected on reserved seats have done a good job in the legislatures. They have put up good human rights legislations," said Nasreen Azhar, a founder member of Women Action Forum, a women's rights organization.
"But they are considered weak because they don't have the backing of voters. Now things will improve but the quota should at least be 10 percent," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on phone from Islamabad, where her organisation is based. Last month, the Senate passed a law seeking a re-election in constituencies where women's turnout is less than 10 percent in an effort to address disparities in the number of women who go out to vote in the socially conservative country.