ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a motion to table the Election Amendment Bill at the joint session of the parliament.
A meeting of the National Assembly was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Asad Qaiser. During the meeting, a motion was passed to send the Election Amendment Bill to the joint sitting.
The National Assembly also sent the second amendment bill of electoral reform to the joint session of the parliament.
During the session, Naveed Qamar of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) opposed the motion for sending to the joint session. Later, the opposition lawmakers staged a walk out of the parliament after pointing out the quorum. However, after a count, the quorum in the House was intact.
Speaking on the floor of the lower house of the parliament, Federal Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem asked if the overseas Pakistanis have no right to cast votes in the country. He added that it would have been an injustice for depriving those who have sent $29 billion of foreign exchange to Pakistan to help stabilise the national kitty of right to vote.
He said that no objection has been raised regarding the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), adding that for the first time, holding elections through electronic voting was being discussed. The conduct of elections has to be through the Act of Parliament, the minister said and added that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has no right to raise objection on holding elections through electronic voting machines.
On the other hand, speaking at National Assembly, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said that use of EVMs was the only way to stop rigging in the elections.
She said that incumbent government was committed to ensure electoral reforms in the country for fair, free and transparent elections in the future.
The minister said that overseas Pakistanis would be given right to vote and rigging in elections would be checked through use of EVMs.
Mazari said that a parliamentary delegation, including PPPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar, also conducted a foreign visit in the past to witness election conducted through EVMs. Therefore, she said that it was morally incorrect to oppose the EVMs by the opposition members at that stage.
“Former government itself agreed to consider use of EVMs in the Elections Act, 2017 and directed ECP through legislation to proceed in that regard,” she concluded.
