PTI suggests MPs body to appoint caretaker govt

Islamabad

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) proposed formation of Parliamentary Committee for the appointment of the caretaker government with equal representation of the treasury and opposition benches and casting of vote in the next general elections through electronic voting machines.

The PTI presented its constitutional proposals in the meeting of the sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms which was held here Tuesday under its Chairman Law Minister Zahid Hamid.

According to PTI proposals, the Election Commission should be made financially and administratively independent and should also have a right to appoint its secretary rather than the government should make the appointment. “The retired bureaucrat may be appointed as a secretary Election Commission but the age limit should not exceed 65 years,” the PTI suggested. 

The PTI also proposed that casting of votes in the next general elections should be ensured through the election voting machines and also ensured the verification of voters through bio-metric machines.

It also proposed ensuring right of vote to overseas Pakistanis in the next general elections. The PTI proposed that the officer of grade-19 be appointed as a returning officer to be taken from all the government departments including the defence institutions.

It was proposed that the Army be deployed at the polling stations and should be kept at the polling till the announcement of results at the polling stations. It was proposed that the runner-up candidate be given right to recounting of the votes and the voters’ list should be displayed 60 days prior to the elections.

The PTI suggested that the permission to use the loud speakers in the rallies of the election campaign should be granted and there should be no bar on the members of the National Assembly and provincial assembles to run the election campaign of the party.

Talking to newsmen after the meeting, committee chairman Zahid Hamid said the committee in its meeting initially examined the proposals of the PTI. “Some of the PTI proposals relating to constitution while others relate to legal,” he said.

He said so far committee had received around 630 proposals for the electoral reforms. He said there were still differences on the proposals that related to constitution. “The committee has failed to make any consensus on the proposals regarding direct Senate election, election on women seat and reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he said.

Zahid Hamid said all the proposals on which committee had a difference would be taken into main Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms. He said it was also decided once the polling station be finalised, these would not be changed.