Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency –
PILDAT has welcomed the reports that the newly-constituted Election
Commission of Pakistan has decided to take concrete steps towards
banning holders of the nationality of a foreign country from contesting
the next General Election.
PILDAT has demanded that, in addition, the ECP should initiate the
formal process for candidates in the next General Election to declare
if they hold the status of permanent residence, such as the US green
card, in any country other than Pakistan. Such public declaration and
the availability of this information to public and media through the
ECP website, ahead of the day of General Election, will be greatly
helpful to the voters in deciding about the suitability of a candidate
in the election.
PILDAT also pointed out that the Nomination Form as provided under
the Representation of People Act requires the declaration of useful
information about a candidate such as the Educational Qualification,
List of criminal cases, amount of income tax and land revenue paid and
Statement of Assets and Liabilities of the Candidate, etc. This
information is meant for voters to enable them to make informed choices
about their representatives in the Election. Unfortunately this wealth
of information remains largely buried in the files of returning
officers as the procedure to obtain this information is complex and
time-consuming. This defeats the very purpose for which such
declarations are made by the candidates in accordance with the law.
PILDAT urged the ECP to post all such declarations on the ECP
website before Election Day, so that these are available in time to
general public, media and, above all, to voters. The addition of a
column about foreign nationality and permanent residential statement in
a foreign country in the declaration part of the Nomination Forms will
greatly enhance the usefulness of these declarations, PILDAT added.
PILDAT also urged the Government of Pakistan to expeditiously pass
the required legislation in this regard as recommended by the ECP in
order to create a comprehensive mechanism to implement the
constitutional provisions such as article 63-1(c) which disqualifies a
person from becoming or being a member of the Parliament who holds or
becomes a foreign national, and to operationalise the decision of the
ECP in this regard.
As an indigenous think tank, established with the focus of
strengthening and supporting democracy and democratic institutions, run
by Pakistani citizens and supported by eminent Pakistanis from all
walks of life, PILDAT has been working to suggest electoral reforms and
a strict implementation of laws by the Election Commission of Pakistan,
to ensure free, fair and credible elections. When electoral reforms are
discussed in Pakistan, generally, political parties and other
stakeholders complain of lack of powers and independence of the
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as the key institution
constitutionally charged with the responsibility of holding free and
fair elections.
PILDAT feels that especially after the 18th Constitutional
Amendment, it is not the constitutional powers of the ECP that hold it
back, but it is the lack of effective use of those powers that makes
the ECP suffer from deficit of trust in the Pakistani society. The bold
decisions such as the one regarding the foreign nationalities of the
intending parliamentarians will go a long way in enhancing the
credibility of the ECP, PILDAT stressed. SANA
