Government decides to give electoral reforms committee chair to PPP
The federal government has decided to give the chairmanship of the electoral reforms committee to the PPP, according to Daily Pakistan. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has outlined how seats will be shared among parties.
- Federal government reportedly decides to give the committee chair to the PPP
- PML-N, PPP and PTI get two Senate seats each
- ANP, BAP, National Party and JUI-F get one seat each
- Ishaq Dar to make the final decision on Senate members
The federal government has decided to give the chairmanship of the electoral reforms committee to the Pakistan Peoples Party, Daily Pakistan reported on 6 November.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Thursday that the PML-N, PPP and PTI will each receive two seats in the Senate's Electoral Reforms Committee. The ANP, BAP, National Party and JUI-F will get one seat each.
The minister said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will make the final decision on committee members. The Express Tribune reported that Mr Dar will consult the opposition, ruling coalition parties and the parliamentary leadership first. Daily Pakistan added that Mr Dar is also the leader of the House in the Senate.
According to Daily Pakistan, the PPP will have five members from the National Assembly and two from the Senate on the parliamentary electoral reforms committee. The party has finalised its National Assembly nominees: Shazia Marri, Abdul Qadir Patel, Sadiq Memon, Nawabzada Iftikhar and Ali Qasim Gilani.
From the Senate, the PPP has proposed Farooq H Naik and Senator Zamir Ghumro. The name of Senator Shahadat Awan, earlier proposed as a third Senate nominee, has been withdrawn. Daily Pakistan said Mr Naik is considered a strong candidate for the chairmanship.
Syed Naveed Qamar said the party itself will decide the name of the committee chairman.
The Express Tribune also recalled that on 29 October PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari urged opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to use the authority given by Imran Khan to bring opposition lawmakers back into key parliamentary committees, especially on electoral reforms. A PPP delegation met Mr Achakzai in the National Assembly to invite him to join the committee.
Mr Bilawal said Mr Achakzai should nominate members and send their names to the speaker's office if parliament forms the committee. On 20 August he had urged the opposition to rejoin standing committees and to coordinate on appointing the chief election commissioner and Election Commission members, as well as on electoral reforms.
Why it matters for Pakistan
The committee is where parliament works on the rules for how elections are held across Pakistan. Voters, political parties and candidates are all affected by the outcome of such rules. The distribution of seats and the chair decides which parties have a say in shaping them.
