ISLAMABAD: PMLN President and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif has urged Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of Pakistan, Sikandar Sultan Raja, invite all opposition parties for consultation ascertain inclusivity and consensus over elected reforms to ensure that future elections are fair, transparent and reflect the genuine will of the electorate.
In a letter to the Cheif Election Commissioner, Shehbaz said In view of the complaints of rigging in the 2018 Elections, there is a dim need for evolving a national consensus on electoral reforms to ensure that next general elections are held in fair, free and transparent manner, without any interference.
The National Assembly Opposition Leader said The present government’s unilateral actions to force its electoral reforms agenda without any consultation with the stakeholders, which conflicts with many constitutional provisions, will make future elections controversial.
He pointed out that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has itself expressed serious concems regarding the recent election bills bulldozed through the National Assembly in an objectionable manner. Any election-related legislation must be based on broad-based consensus. For meaningful electoral reforms, institutions have to ensure stakeholders’ input and ownership, he stressed.
The spirit of upholding the constitution must be at the center of the reform plan.
The Election Commission of Pakistan is the Constitutional body responsible for holding of free, fair and impartial elections in the country. It is thus responsibility of ECP to hold an inclusive dialogue with all political parties in the country on the subject of electoral reforms”
Shehbaz urged the Cheif Election Commissioner to invite all opposition parties for consultation to achieve a consensus-based reform plan, which can then be presented before the Parliament for passage, to ensure that future elections are fair, transparent and reflect the genuine will of the electorate.
