Zardari, Siraj agree on introducing election reforms

PPP co-chairman invited to polls reform conference at Mansoora

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq on Friday called for consensual election reforms ahead of the next general elections to make the exercise of power transfer credible. They said that the forthcoming elections would serve no purpose without consensual electoral reforms ahead of the elections.

Senator Sirajul Haq called on Asif Ali Zardari on Friday afternoon at the Zardari House and invited the PPP to the JI conference to be held in Mansoora, Lahore.

Former interior minister Senator Rehman Malik and JI leaders Mian Muhammad Aslm and Asif Luqman Qazi were also present in the meeting.

Both the leaders discussed the current political situation in the country with focus of electoral reforms. Senator Sirajul Haq invited Asif Ali Zardari to a conference on electoral reforms proposed to be held in Mansoora, Lahore, by the JI which Mr Zardari accepted.

Welcoming the Jamaat-e-Islami initiative to hold an All Parties Conference on election reforms, former president Asif Ali Zardari called for consensual election reforms ahead of the next general elections to make the exercise of power transfer credible.

Asif Ali Zardari said, “Manipulated power transfer lies at the root of political instability in the country. The elections would serve no purpose without consensual electoral reforms ahead of the elections."

He opined that the reformed election laws must also provide for punishment to Returning Officers involved in election rigging, a mechanism for  arriving at consensus in the setting up of caretaker governments at the federal and provincial levels and right to vote to overseas Pakistanis.

He said that innumerable instances had been reported pointing towards the involvement of election officers in the electoral malpractices.  Zardari said that the PPP had conducted research on electoral rigging in some constituencies in the Punjab which it was ready to share with all the parties. He said that the party had accepted the results of 2013 general elections despite its serious reservations only for the sake of continuity of democracy.

During the meeting, Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq said that comprehensive electoral reforms were imperative for transparent and true democracy in the country. He said that the general public was losing faith in the electoral system and the polling process and the masses were disappointed, which was giving rise to unrest and even terrorism.

He said that along with electoral reforms, the formation of an impartial and interim government, and a truly independent and sovereign Election Commission was also essential for a true and transparent democratic system.