Election Reforms Amendment Bill: Opposition Fears 'Transparency' In Elections

 Election Reforms Amendment Bill: Opposition Fears 'Transparency' In Elections Or Government Goes On 'Organized Fraud':

Election Reforms Amendment Bill: Opposition Fears 'Transparency' In Elections 

Opposition parties in Pakistan have accused the PTI government of hastily passing a controversial electoral reform bill in parliament to pave the way for "systematic rigging" in the next general election.

 Electronic Voting Machines In The Next General Elections:

On the other hand, Government Ministers are of the view that the provisions in the Proposed Bill, such as 'granting voting rights to Pakistanis abroad' and 'use of electronic voting machines in the next general elections', are in fact transparent to the electoral process in the country. They are intent on creating and 'these measures based on transparency' are bothering the opposition.

Electronic Voting Machines In The Next General Elections

 Earlier this month, the Government passed 21 bills in a single day in the National Assembly in a 'very hasty' manner, including the Election Act Amendment Bill 2020.

 Although almost all the bills passed on the same day by the opposition parties were criticized, the biggest criticism was on the Election Act Amendment Bill, which is still going on.

Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections unless the proposed bill is tabled in the National Assembly.

It may be recalled that the bill was passed unanimously in the National Assembly but now the important step is to get it passed by the Senate and the opposition parties say they will not allow this to happen. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections, as the deputy speaker of the National Assembly has suspended the rules and hastily passed the bill.

But the important question is what opposition parties have objected to the bill and what explanation does the government offer?

Electronic Voting Machine:

One clause in the bill relates to the use of electronic voting machines in the next general election. Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, a member of the National Assembly from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the largest opposition party, says the literacy rate in Pakistan is not so satisfactory. "How can a voting machine be used properly in a country where the majority of people do not know how to use an ATM to withdraw money?"

Electronic Voting Machine:

Citing the Benazir Income Support Program as an example, he said that when the money was sent to the deserving people living in the villages, the deserving people used to hire a person to help them withdraw money from ATMs. At the same time, allegations of fraud and irregularities continued to surface.

According to Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, even in the developed countries of the world, this system has not been so successful and its transparency has been questioned.

He said that the investigation into the sit-in of 'RTS system' in the 2018 general elections has not been completed yet and if electronic voting machines were used in the next general elections, it would take centuries to investigate the rigging shall be.

Shazia Murree, a member of the Pakistan People's Party's National Assembly, told the BBC that such controversial legislation provided "influential institutions of the country" more opportunities to interfere in democratic institutions.

He said that the hasty amendments introduced by the government in the Election Act 2017 show that there is something black in the pulse.

He said that when the government passed some amendments in the proposed bill from the standing committee, a total of eight members were present in the meeting of the standing committee, out of which five members belonged to the ruling party and three belonged to the ruling party. Was from opposition parties.

Shazia Murree said that not only the Standing Committee but also the National Assembly was not given any opportunity to discuss the report.

 Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the government was ready to discuss all important issues with opposition parties, including electoral reforms. He said that electronic voting machine is the most effective in terms of transparency of voting and according to him people have the most trust in this machine.

Later, speaking in the National Assembly, Fawad Chaudhry said that the opposition has been constantly running away from this issue because they are seeing their clear defeat in view of transparency in the elections.

Although legislation in this regard is yet to be enacted, the government has allocated Rs 5 billion in the current financial year's budget for the purchase of electronic voting machines.

Federal ministers have called electronic voting machines a "vision" of Prime Minister Imran Khan and said they would play the role of a neutral empire in the next elections.

On the other hand, the written position of the Election Commission regarding electronic voting machines has come to light in which the spokesperson of the Election Commission said that in the second week of this month, the Federal Ministers had said in a meeting with the Election Commission officials that the Ministry of Science and Technology The model of electronic voting machine developed by will be ready in the middle of next month.

The ECP also clarified that the ECP officials had earlier seen the practical demonstration of electronic voting machines by two international companies.

Overseas Pakistanis Have The Right To Vote:

One clause in the same proposed bill deals with giving the right to vote to Pakistanis living abroad.

PML-N's Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha says his party treats expatriates with respect, but the government's bill does not state the process of verifying the votes of Pakistanis living abroad. How will it be completed?

Overseas Pakistanis Have The Right To Vote:

"Where will the polling stations be, who will be the presiding officer, will the ECP send its staff or will the embassy staff work, where will the votes be counted and who will decide whether the votes will be rejected or validated? The questions were not answered in this bill.

He said the government had not consulted the opposition parties or the Election Commission on the issue. He said that in the bill presented by the government, the Election Commission has been asked to work with NADRA to arrange e-voting for Pakistanis living abroad, it is not enough to just say that.

Shazia Murree says that the government has not even consulted the officials of the Election Commission regarding Pakistanis abroad and it seems that the government wants to use the Election Commission, which is an independent body, as per its intention.

The Government Has To Make It Clear That:

If Pakistanis living abroad are to be given the right to vote, then they will also have the right to participate in the elections.

He said that it was not enough to say that Pakistanis living abroad have been given the right to vote, it would require legislation and it would require a two-thirds majority which the government does not have. Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry says Pakistanis living abroad are supporters of the PTI.

The Government Has To Make It Clear That

"If we recognize the role of Pakistanis working abroad in the country's development, then why are they being denied the right to vote and participate in elections," he said.

He accused opposition parties of obstructing the process. It should be noted that under Pakistani law, any person with dual citizenship is prohibited from participating in elections unless he renounces the citizenship of another country where he resides.

Officials of the Election Commission said in a written statement that during the tenure of the present government, the Ministry of Information Technology had also conducted a third party audit of the i-voting system developed by NADRA and had sent its report to the Election Commission. Several flaws have been identified and the report recommends not using the I-voting system.