A group of National Assembly members and senators strongly criticised the approval of the Electoral Reforms Bill by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday, saying the decision would hand over the country to looters.
Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House on Thursday, Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Haji Adeel disapproved the decision made by the ECP, saying it would be tantamount to injustice to the middle class.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Senator Mushahid Hussain said the decision would monopolise politics for the elite class. “We have to strengthen democracy in the real sense to materialise what the constitution says with reference to the elections,” he added.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Jamshed Dasti also rejected the Electoral Reforms Bill, saying the decision would not let the poor people go forward, and consequently only plunderers would advance.
Expressing concerns over the approval of the Bill, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar observed that the common man should also participate in the elections, saying only a poor man could feel the pain of the deprived. PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said the scrutiny done by the ECP had no usefulness, as electoral process was the scrutiny done by the people.