NA passes unanimous resolution to delay LB polls

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a unanimous resolution seeking delay in the local bodies’ polls and called the Election Commission of Pakistan to ensure transparency in the polls.
Following the Supreme Court order, the ECP had announced a schedule for the LB polls under which polls are to be held on November 27 in Sindh and in Punjab and Balochistan on December 7. The date for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is yet to be announced.
The government laid before the National Assembly the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2013; and Protection of Pakistan Ordinance 2013. The lawmakers also discussed the prospects of the peace talks with the new leadership of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which later in the day refused to hold any dialogue with Pakistan once electing an anti-Pakistan militant as its new leader – Mullah Fazlullah – to replace its former leader Hakeemullah Mehsud who was killed in a drone strike by the US last week.
The focus of the ongoing debate on peace talks with the TTP was dramatically shifted to the LB election schedule as soon as the leader of opposition refused to accept it.
After initial debate, a resolution was drafted and simultaneously was passed unanimously by the house. The resolution was moved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) deputy parliamentary leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi and it was signed by the parliamentary leaders or their deputies from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the PTI, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other smaller parties on both sides of the political divide.
The resolution said that the conduct of the local government elections in “haste” may annul transparency and thus would cast doubts on the credibility of the process but also about its results. The resolution also called for announcement of new schedule and the election commission was urged not to print the ballot papers from private printing press and rather all the ballot papers should be printed by Printing Press of Pakistan to ensure transparency of polls.
Earlier, PPP leader Naveed Qamar moved for suspension of the business for moving for the resolution while the treasury adopted the resolution and also participated in preparation of its draft.
“The Election Commission must ensure that proper procedures are followed and minimum required time must be allotted for free, fair and transparent LG election,” says the resolution signed by treasury and opposition benches’ leadership, adding that the printing of ballot papers as defined by the law can only be carried out by the Printing Press of Pakistan which has shown inability to print the ballots in the election schedule given.
“The sovereign political will of this House must prevail in the elections, which has to be transparent, free and fair,” the resolution said. The lawmakers looked committed to oppose the election schedule once leader of opposition Khursheed Shah raised the matter on a point of order and said that the holding of local body polls in haste may make the process dubious.
He opined that the matter of local bodies’ polls should be handled by politicians and not by the judiciary. He said that the judiciary was independent but elections were the sole domain of the election commission and not of the SC. He added that there was already stigma on the ECP’s role for rigging in May 11 polls and elections held in such haste may create another mess.
“We will not accept printing of ballot papers from private printing companies at any cost and this is a unanimous decision which should not be considered a weak voice,” he added.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi opined that the elections should not be held in haste. He said it was responsibility of the ECP to conduct free and fair elections and the government’s printing corporations had refused to print the ballot papers before 120 days.
“The holding of local body’s elections in such a situation is not possible as the provinces have to undergo delimitation of constituencies,” Shah asserted.
MQM’s Abdul Rashid Godail also put weight behind the other opposition parties that private printing press will not be acceptable.
PPP’s Amin Fahim said that the LB election should be held in a transparent manner.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq also joined the debate and said there was a need to give more time to the provinces to hold free, fair and transparent elections. “All provinces want to hold election in a transparent manner,” he added.
Earlier, the legislators from opposition and treasury benches stressed to re-initiate peace talks with the TTP. PPP’s Abdus Sattar Bachani said that the opposition had mandated the government to hold talks with the Taliban and so the incumbent government should handle this matter seriously.
SAFFRON Minister Abdul Qadir Baloch said that the TTP should not doubt the intentions of the government for peace as they were in favour of resolving the matter through talks.
“We don’t believe in use of power,” he said, adding that the PML-N government wanted a meaningful dialogue with the TTP for peace and normalcy in the country. He said further the recent drone attack had created mess.
MQM lawmaker Asif Hasnain said the government should hold dialogue seriously as it has chance and support of opposition. PML-Z chief Ijazul Haq criticised PKMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai’s suggestion that Pakistan should give the international guarantee that Afghanistan was a sovereign state.