PPP invites opposition to join 30-member electoral reforms committee
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has sought 15 names from the government, 10 from the Senate chairman and five from the opposition.
A Pakistan Peoples Party delegation has invited opposition leaders to join a proposed parliamentary committee on electoral reforms, acting on the instructions of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Senator Sherry Rehman said.
Rehman, a PPP vice president, said the party had proposed that the government and the opposition jointly draw up recommendations aimed at transparent, free and fair elections. "We met opposition leaders on Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's instructions and invited them to join the electoral reforms committee," Daily Times quoted her as saying. She said she hoped the opposition would respond positively.
Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan chief and National Assembly opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, and the alliance's vice chairman and Senate opposition leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, asked for time to consult the PTI leadership before giving a formal answer, according to sources cited by the paper. Raja Nasir said he agreed with the proposal to make the electoral process more transparent.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has written to the government, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani and the opposition seeking nominations for a 30-member committee. The government has been asked for 15 members, the Senate chairman for 10 senators and the opposition for five members. Sadiq confirmed that he had sent all three letters.
The letter to the government was handed to Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, and the request for opposition names went to Chief Whip Malik Aamir Dogar.
Seats on the committee will reflect the government's and the opposition's strength in parliament, and a notification constituting it will be issued once the names are received, sources said. The committee is expected to be in place before the next sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan demanded equal representation for the government and the opposition on the committee. He said any electoral reforms must be impartial and in line with the public's aspirations.
Parliament has yet to name the members, and no date has been set for the committee's first meeting.
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