Zardari calls for broad electoral reforms

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has called for broad-based electoral reforms for the sake of political stability and an end to what he called manipulated political transfer that has been the bane of Pakistan’s political landscape during the past over six decades.

The former president said this in a statement on Wednesday while commenting on the agreement between the PML-N and PTI on the formation of a judicial commission. It is hoped that the agreement on the judicial commission will mark an end to confrontational and sit-in politics and pave the way for PTI legislators to play their role inside parliament instead of the streets, he said. “However, there is a pressing need for comprehensively addressing issues in election malpractices before, during and after elections with and broad based consensus of all political parties and stake holders”.

Except for temporarily lowering political temperatures the agreed judicial commission, being too little too late, unfortunately does not address fundamental issues in Pakistan’s electoral landscape, he said. The former president called upon all political parties to forge consensus on the measures that need to be taken whether by way of amending the constitution or adopting new legislation or taking purely administrative measures for ensuring free, fair and transparent elections that genuinely reflect the will of the people.

Zardari recalled that sometime back a multi-party parliamentary committee had been set up to examine election-related constitutional articles and laws and recommend suitable changes for banishing electoral malpractices before, during and after elections. There is need for this multi-party parliamentary committee to expedite its recommendations and place the draft constitutional amendments and draft legislation before parliament. The committee should complete its task within a defined time line, he said.

Furthermore the parliamentary committee should also invite suggestions from the general public and stakeholders for arriving at broad based consensus for long lasting and durable solution of the issues, he said. “Wisdom is not the monopoly of one or few political parties.