ISLAMABAD: Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan has reservations about a number of amendments inserted in the Elections Act by the National Assembly and says some of them clash with the Constitution. “I have advised Prime Minister Imran Khan to find a way out in consultation with the major stakeholders and political parties so that consensus electoral reforms emerge,” the attorney general said while answering questions from The News. He said he was actively engaged in the process of hammering out an agreement on several controversial amendments made in the poll law. He said the prime minister has asked him to talk to the opposition parties to attempt an accord on the reforms. “The premier is clear that an understanding should be arrived at and doesn’t want to go solo.”
Since assuming charge, Khalid Jawed Khan has established himself as an independent mind in giving opinions even on complicated legal and constitutional issues without taking sides. Even during hearings of important cases of a political nature in the superior courts, he has been voicing non-partisan opinions that are eventually accepted by the government, saving it from awkward situations.
The attorney general said that the prime minister had asked him to talk to the opposition parties to sort out the conflicting standpoints on the amendments. “However, I expressed the view that it will be somewhat difficult for me to do so. But I assured him that I could interact with the legal team of the opposition for the purpose. I have already consulted a couple of its senators, who were receptive, and thus the deliberations were positive.”
To a question, Khalid Jawed Khan said his recent discussion with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja was part of his efforts and reflects his keenness to resolve the disagreements. The meeting was reported to have been productive. He got first-hand knowledge of the ECP’s stand on several changes made in the Elections Act. The ECP had made it public that 45 of the 72 amendments were objectionable and ran counter to the Constitution or the Elections Act and curtailed its powers. He said that the Senate standing committee on parliamentary affairs was an appropriate forum that, to start with, would take the amendments into consideration on July 12 to resolve a complex issue like the electoral reforms on which the government and opposition hold different opinions.
The attorney general made it clear that the National Database & Registration Authority (Nadra) can’t be a substitute for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which was an independent constitutional institution. He said the Nadra can provide technical assistance and extend a supportive role but can’t take away the functions given to the ECP by the Constitution. Khalid Jawed Khan said that no unilateral and one-sided amendments would be made in the Elections Act and added that it was crystal clear that once a law would be made it would be binding on the ECP as well.
He said among others, the principal sticking points of the changes were the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections and giving voting rights to overseas Pakistanis. He pointed out that the prime minister has publicly attached much importance to these amendments and shown his utmost preference for them. Imran Khan wants transparency through the use of the EVMs, he said.
The attorney general said that these two amendments could be examined with an open mind by the two sides and a solution could be sought during discussions.
Khalid Jawed Khan stated that a timeframe needs to be fixed in the poll law for taking oath by a member-elect so that his constituency doesn’t go unrepresented in the legislature for an unnecessarily long time. There is no point in keeping the seat vacant by the member-elect by not taking oath, he said.
He wants the government to take into account the objections and reservations expressed by the ECP, which, under the Constitution, is armed with powers to hold polls in a fair, free and transparent manner. He also wishes for an amicable resolution of the serious row between the government and the opposition over the proposed electoral reforms so that a consensus document emerges.
Contrary to the inflexible stand publicly taken by a set of federal ministers stating that the government would not budge even slightly from the amendments, the attorney general desires to take the opposition and the ECP on board and withdraw the changes that have caused a serious dispute.
The ECP has opposed the delimitation of constituencies on the basis of enrolled voters and not population in every constituency on the grounds that Article 51(5) provides that the allocation of seats will be made on account of population. It believes that this amendment will be subject to another change in Article 51(5) which provides the criteria for distribution of seats among federating units on the basis of voters instead of population. The ECP says it is its constitutional function to prepare and periodically revise electoral rolls to keep them up to date. This duty can’t be taken away by Nadra. It also stated that the appointment of registration officers for the preparation, revision and correction of voters’ lists can’t be assigned to any other body.