The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on Wednesday discussed amendments in the electoral laws and considered raising the deposits from Rs 4,000 and Rs 2,000 for election to a seat in the National Assembly and provincial assembly, respectively, to Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000, so that ‘dummy candidates’ were discouraged.
The committee met with MNA Abdul Ghafoor Chaudhary in the chair to discuss the report of the sub-committee of the House Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs relating to amendments in electoral laws.
The committee was of the view that ‘dummy candidates’ should be discouraged by raising security deposits as they created judgment problems for the illiterate voters by taking election symbols quite similar to their opponents.
The committee recommended that the sum would be deposited in cash by the candidate or by any person on his behalf to the returning officer at the time of delivery of nomination papers.
The committee also recommended that the sum so deposited shall not be refunded to a candidate who has received less than one fourth of the total number of vote cast at the election. In the existing provisions, a candidate must have to secure one eighth of the total number of vote cast at the election to avoid forfeiture of the security deposit.
Representative of the law ministry who also served as a district and session judge, however, said that security of the deposits was a big issue for the returning officers concerned and suggested that the candidates be allowed to deposit the sums in the National Bank of Pakistan and receipts be attached with the nomination papers. Committee chairman Abdul Ghafoor Chaudhary, however, rejected the proposal, saying the deposits were refundable, adding that how would a returning officer return the amount to losing candidates if deposited with the banks.
To limit the election expenses for the candidates, the committee considered a number of proposal but cold not reach a conclusion as the members differed on the options.
All the members agreed that wall-chalking was the most inexpensive scheme to run an election campaign but the committee was told that Punjab government had banned wall-chalking across the province. As the committee members suggested to permit the candidates for wall-chalking during election campaign and ban hoardings, panaflex and portraits except at the office and residence of the candidate, the deputy draftsman of the ministry of law, Sarfraz Shaikh, told the committee that under the prevailing provincial laws, the federal government could not allow wall-chalking in Punjab even for election campaign, as the federal law could not over write provincial laws.
In the face of reservations that election rules were never implemented in letter and spirit, Anusha Rehman of the PML-N recommended punitive action against those responsible to check violation of the said law. However, a final decision on the proposed amendments would be taken in the next meeting of the committee.
The parliamentary body also rejected a separate amendment in the constitution which suggested all treaties and agreements relating to the country’s defence shall be presented before parliament and duly ratified by it.
In the face of reservations from committee members, MNA Naseer Bhutta withdrew a bill that sought declaring the kidnapping for ransom a compoundable offence. He said he would move a more refined draft of the bill on the subject in the coming days.
