ISLAMABAD: The ruling Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) today (Monday) shared details of the government’s plan for electoral reforms to ensure transparency and fairness in the election process.
The announcement was made during a media briefing by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary and Adviser to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan in Islamabad.
Babar Awan explained that 49 sections in the Elections Act 2017 were being introduced, deleted or amended. “Section 103 was being amended according to the prime minister’s vision to enable the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the elections,” he added.
He further said Section 94 would also be amended to extend the right of vote to overseas Pakistanis. An amendment in section 202 proposes that political parties having representation of ten thousand members be able to get themselves registered.
A new section of 213A is also being introduced making it compulsory on political parties to hold their annual conventions. An amendment in section 15 will provide an opportunity to the candidates to challenge the polling staff.
“Two constitutional amendments will also be brought with the aim to ensure an open ballot in the Senate and allow the overseas Pakistanis to contest the elections,” he added.
“The reforms will be put forth before the stakeholders including the civil society, the media and bar councils and associations for their inputs,” Awan said. He said that out of all the reforms he had mentioned, there was nothing that advantaged any one particular political party.
Taking over the presser, Information Minister said, “Our foundational point about democracy has been of trust in elections and electoral results,” adding that after every election there was a quarrel among people.
He recounted the prime minister’s efforts in this regard such as his tweets, calling for the opposition to come together on the issue of electoral reforms. He added that PML-N leaders hadn’t even seen or tried to understand EVMs and rejected them outright.
“The country’s interest was now in introducing “new and modern reforms in the electoral system,” the information minister concluded.
