Senate body to vote on two key election bills today

ISLAMABAD: Voting is set to take place on two key election bills that have raised many eyebrows when the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs meets today (Friday) for the fourth time in five days.

Informed sources told Dawn that a clause-by-clause discussion had already been done and an understanding reached on unanimous passage of as many as 23 amendments proposed in the Elections Act.

Nineteen of them are set to be rejected as they were found to be in conflict with constitutional provisions.

According to a source, amendments proposed in Sections 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 221 are set to be shot down.

Committee set to shoot down 19 sections for being repugnant to Constitution

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had objected to the proposed omission of 11 sections of Chapter-IV (Sections 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36 and 44 relating to preparation and revision of electoral rolls) as it determined they were in conflict with Articles 219(a) and 222(c) of the Constitution.

“Article 219(a) requires periodical revision of electoral rolls. Article 222 guarantees that no law shall have the effect of taking away or abridging any of the powers of the Commissioner or the Election Commission,” it said while conveying its opinion to the government.

Another objection raised by the ECP concerned an amendment proposed in Section 221 seeking “delimitation on the basis of voters instead of population”. The commission reminded the government the preamble to the Constitution provided for “chosen representatives of the people” and not “of the voters”.

A source said there was a consensus that 10 amendments would be passed with minor changes. These include amendments in Sections 12(c), 15(1), 53(3), 59(5), 59(9), 66, 72(a), 84(10), 90(1) and 104(1).

He said the proposed amendments to Sections 103 and 94, which deal with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the right of vote for overseas Pakistanis, were the most contentious ones.

According to him, some positive suggestions were floated regarding an alternative to EVMs as many fear it would be susceptible to manipulation.

One of the suggestions was made by Senator Taj Haider, the panel’s chairman. He stressed that biometric verification of voters be made mandatory as a starting point before testing the same as a pilot project during the coming local government polls in all the four provinces.

The other one was made by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan for introduction of machines that are capable of reading voter slips.

The committee discussed step-by-step development of a risk-free mechanism to facilitate overseas Pakistanis in exercising their right to vote.

Another proposal that attracted an exhaustive debate related to allocation of reserved seats for overseas Pakistanis through a proportional representation system. The proposal was recently floated by Shehbaz Sharif, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, while the Pakistan Peoples Party was already working on it, the source said. But he pointed out that it would require a constitutional amendment.

The source said a proposal to introduce I-voting for overseas Pakistanis was adjudged to be insecure and risky by many. The options of postal ballot and use of voting machines at the country’s foreign missions were examined as well.

Amidst an ongoing controversy over change in composition of the panel by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani days before a vote on two key bills, an opposition lawmaker said Taj Haider, the committee’s chairman, had acted wisely and went ahead with efforts for reconciliation instead of taking any harsh step.

He said the PPP senator had some options that could have vitiated the environment. One of them was to go for voting before Samina Mumtaz, a lawmaker from the Balochistan Awami Party, took her oath as member of the panel.

It would have been embarrassing as the ruling party has a thin presence in the committee.

Another option before Taj Haider was to exercise his power under rule 180 of the rules of procedure and throw Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem out of the committee over his persistent absence.

The rule reads: “If a member is absent from three or more consecutive sittings of a committee without the permission of its Chairman, such member shall cease to be the member of the Committee and he shall be informed accordingly by the Chairman.”

A source pointed out that the minister had skipped five meetings of the panel and turned up on Wednesday for the first time.

Taj Haider, the committee’s chairman, refused to be drawn into the controversy, saying he was hopeful that a consensus would emerge soon.