PILDAT has welcomed the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to bar dual nationality holders from contesting the parliamentary and provincial assemblies’ elections. According to a press statement issued on Tuesday, the ECP hoped the political parties would not only welcome the decision but also cooperate fully for its effective implementation. ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan directed the returning officers on December 19 to obtain a declaration on oath from all the candidates filing nomination papers for the elections.
He also said the ECP, according to Article 63-1-(C) of the Constitution read with Section 99 (1A) (C) of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, has observed that the constitution and law disqualify such a person from being elected, or chosen as and from being a member of the Parliament if “he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan or acquires the citizenship of a foreign state.”
Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) had demanded the ECP to effectively implement the Constitutional and legal provisions on dual nationality holders. In addition to its repeated demands through its electoral reforms submitted to the ECP, PILDAT wrote a letter to the Secretary Election Commission on November 15, 2010 which proposed the following:
“PILDAT would like to formally propose that an additional declaration be added to the nomination form required to be submitted by each candidate contesting the election for the membership of the National Assembly or Senate or any of the four Provincial Assemblies. It is proposed that each candidate should declare on oath the current (at the time of filing nomination papers) status of his / her citizenship and /or permanent residency of a foreign country. The declaration may include detail of the application, if any, made by the candidate to a foreign country seeking permanent residence and/or citizenship of the foreign country. “In our opinion, this declaration is important as the voters must know the residence / citizenship status of the candidates seeking their vote and trust for such an important public office. We feel that this information will have an important bearing on the opinion of the voters.”
PILDAT is an indigenous think tank, established to strengthen and support democracy and democratic institutions. It is run by Pakistani citizens and supported by eminent Pakistanis from all walks of life and has been working to institute electoral reforms and strict implementation of laws by the ECP to ensure free, fair and credible elections in Pakistan.
