Opposition groups united against amendments to polls law

ISLAMABAD: The electoral reforms bill passed by the National Assembly will most likely now land up in a joint session of parliament, where the ruling coalition will try to get it passed on the strength of its thin majority.

There is likely to be a repeat of the nine-month-old episode when the government had got approved over half a dozen bills, including legislation relating to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), amid the opposition’s protest and subsequent boycott. The opposition-dominated Senate had earlier rejected most of these bills while no consensus had been reached on others during half-hearted talks with the government. Even before the negotiations had concluded, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke in the National Assembly, alleging that the opposition demanded an “NRO” during negotiations in the shape of 32 amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law – something the opposition had vehemently denied.

After the March election to half of the Senate, the ruling coalition’s numerical power in parliament has somewhat improved. It now has a small edge over the opposition. Previously, the opposition parties were in a majority in the two houses combined but a number of its lawmakers had been absent from the proceedings for different reasons. The opposition had also lacked cohesion and due preparations to put up a fight on the floor of the parliament.

The opposition parties are likely to stop the electoral reforms in the Senate where they still command a majority. However, even after their possible passage in a joint parliamentary session that the government has planned, the amendments -- which number more than 70 and drastically change the Elections Act, 2017 that was unanimously passed by parliament during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government – are likely to be challenged in a superior court.

The opposition’s view is strengthened by the stand taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which has stated that it considers at least 45 out of the 72 amendments absolutely or partially impacting on its independence and constitutional powers to hold fair, free and transparent elections.

Given that its stance has been made public, the ECP is unlikely to budge from it when it will be asked to give its opinion during hearings on the amendments in the superior court. Its stance will be no different from the position that it had taken when a government reference had come up before the Supreme Court on an open ballot rather than a secret vote in the Senate elections. Finally, the apex court had endorsed the ECP’s judgment.

The ruling alliance had got the FATF legislation and some other bills passed by a joint session only after its talks with the opposition aimed at evolving a consensus had turned into an exercise in futility. This time too, a similar situation has transpired. As part of an understanding brokered by Speaker Asad Qaiser, it had been agreed that all the 21 bills, specifically the multiple changes in the poll law that the government had bulldozed through the National Assembly last week, would be reviewed during the dialogue between the two sides.

It was because of the fruitful efforts of the speaker that the government and opposition had agreed to certain rules of the game to be observed in the National Assembly proceedings, that had been marred by chaos for three consecutive days. It was due to this accord that the opposition had withdrawn the no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker. It had also been settled that all the 21 bills hastily passed by the National Assembly without any debate whatsoever would be reconsidered and a consensus would be evolved. The rare bonhomie that was created has proved to be short-lived. The government and opposition have once again started blaming each other for ruining the concord.

Just two days later, at least two government leaders -- Adviser Babar Awan and Minister of State Farrukh Habib -- made it clear that there would be no going back on the bills passed by the Lower House of Parliament and the ruling coalition would push them in the Senate for their prompt approval. “These bills are the property of the Senate now,” one of them said, giving the impression that the government would not relent.

Precisely the same had happened in dealing with the bills pertaining to the FATF requirements and other matters last year. On that occasion, the government had thought it proper to bring all the legislative items before a joint session, confident that it would successfully get them passed. The government had carried the day as several bills that were stuck for a long time had been passed.

Both opposition groups --led by the PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) -- are equally opposed to several amendments incorporated in the Elections Act, particularly the one relating to the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

They have publicly voiced their rejection to that amendment and have vowed to oppose it in the Senate and in other forums.