THE National Assembly on Friday adopted a motion to constitute a parliamentary committee to recommend electoral reforms aimed at ensuring free, fair and transparent elections. Members of the committee will be taken from all the parliamentary parties in proportion to their representation in the parliament.
Credible and effective reforms in the electoral process have become inevitable in view of lack of trust in the system both by political parties as well as people of Pakistan. In fact, a number of reforms were initiated and incorporated after thorough examination and recommendation by similar bodies in the past but unfortunately they could not restore the shattered confidence as is evident from accusation of rigging and manipulation of results. There are allegations of engineered breakdown of the Result Transmission System (RTS) and manipulation of Form-47 making mockery of the entire electoral exercise, depriving even genuine winners of the legitimacy and credibility. The proposed committee will have the mandate to propose reforms aimed at ensuring fair and transparent polls including the adoption of the latest technology for conducting elections and the preparation of draft legislation including constitutional amendments, where necessary for the purpose. As there is enough time for the next general elections, it is hoped that the committee will be able to debate and recommend a comprehensive set of proposals to make the electoral system free and fair in the true sense of the word. It is now time for the political parties to contribute their share for realization of this cherished objective.