Call to mainstream marginalised sections in electoral system

LAHORE: Any mode of choosing representation for religious minorities that enhances discrimination on the basis of religion in the political system will be undesirable.

Speakers and participants in a consultation on “Effective political participation of religious minorities” held by an NGO here on Saturday emphasised inclusive policies and mainstreaming the marginalised sections. The consultation, led by Peter Jacob, the executive director of the NGO, was participated by members of civil society, political figures and leaders of different faith communities.

The participants said that the existing mode of proportional representation system for minorities met the fundamental requirement of democratic participation, thus was appropriate, instead of a dual vote or direct election on the reserved seats. They said that joint electorate system was imperative for democratic dispensation as well as for promotion of democratic values and social harmony.

They ruled out the system of dual vote or direct vote for minorities. They said the direct or separate electorate system for minorities had been experimented during 1985 and 1997, which failed badly and caused political marginalization and social exclusion of religious minorities. This discriminatory system on the basis of religion was removed in 2002 on the demand from minorities, they added.

They demanded that the reserved seats for minorities should be filled with an eligibility criteria and larger participatory process through intra-party elections rather than chosen by a committee of a few. The reserved seats for minorities in the national and provincial assemblies have seen no increase since 1985, therefore, these must be enhanced and the allocation should consider a guaranteed representation of smaller communities such as Sikhs, Kalash. They demanded more categories of reserved seats such as persons with disability, peasants and labourers should be added to give voice to these marginalised sections of society.  They called for concrete steps to remove discrimination in other spheres such as the education system to give effect to the religious freedom and equality of rights guaranteed in the Articles 20 and 25 of the constitution of Pakistan.