Islamabad:
On Thursday, the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Justice cleared the Constitution (Twentieth Amendment) Bill, 2020 by a majority vote, with the aim of amending the constitution to allow open voting for Senate elections.
It was informed that the chairman of the committee Riaz Fatyana will present a report on the bill in the House on Friday. The bill seeks to eliminate secret ballots in Senate elections. The government has proposed amendments to Article 59 (2), Article 63 (1) C, and Article 226 of the Constitution.
According to the bill
the word open will be inserted in Article 59 (2) after the word transfer. In Article 3, the words acquire citizenship of a foreign state in paragraph C of clause (1) do not provide conclusive evidence of renunciation of foreign citizenship in the case of "or dual citizenship. Explain before taking the oath, It will have a place.
In Article 226, it is proposed to add the word Senate after the word. During the meeting, PPP MLAs opposed the bill, alleging that the committee chairman did not allow them to speak and bulldozed the bill.
Qamar
who attended the meeting via video link, said it was not just about changing some words of the constitution but about changing the whole process, adding that it was not yet clear whether the vote was real. How do I put By hand or by writing behind the vote or by voice?
Nafisa Shah, who was present at the meeting, vehemently opposed the passage of the bill by the committee, saying that no input was taken from the Election Commission of Pakistan and the provinces. Co-stars Tariq and Alia also complained through the video link that the chair did not give them a chance to discuss specific amendments before going to the polls.
However, PTI's
Tatyana told lawmakers that she had been given a chance to speak and should have expressed her views if given the chance. PTI's Sanaullah Khan Mustikhel said it was a goodwill bill and no one was bulldozing it, adding that it would now be taken to the National Assembly.
After the meeting, PML-N members Khawaja Saad Rafique and Usman Ibrahim shared a dissenting note stating that the proposed amendments were opposed and would be dropped.
After the last cabinet meeting, Information Minister Shibli Faraz also said that a constitutional amendment bill was in the National Assembly to make the Upper House elections transparent.
The minister said the government could go for a constitutional amendment and expose those who opposed open voting. Who can't disagree with setting up a transparent voting system? We need to get out of the argument that the votes were bought.
Earlier, in October 2020, the government introduced the Bill (Election (Amendment)) Act, 2020, which proposed a comprehensive set of electoral reforms. The items and reasons for both bills are the same.
In a statement
Babar Awan, the prime minister's adviser on parliamentary affairs, said transparent Senate elections without manipulating Pakistanis abroad and giving them the right to vote were a long-standing demand of almost all political parties.
The cabinet formed a committee to make recommendations on electoral reform, Awan said. Based on the recommendations, the cabinet approved an electoral reform package, including the Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill and the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2020, he said.
The statement said: These bills include Senate elections, reserved seats for women and minorities, delimitation of constituencies on the basis of registered voters instead of population, right of Pakistanis abroad to vote, and dual citizenship in elections. Is. Conditional participation is covered.
