By Naeem Mehboob
ISLAMABAD: The government has initiated consultations with its coalition partners, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), to finalise the composition of the parliamentary committee tasked with electoral reforms.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has written letters to PPP Chief Whip Ejaz Jakhrani and MQM-P Chief Whip Aminul Haque, requesting nominations for the proposed committee.
According to the details provided, the minister sought the nominations in light of a letter from the Speaker of the National Assembly, with the aim of completing the committee’s formation and facilitating parliamentary consultations on electoral reforms.
Under the proposed representation formula, the PPP is expected to nominate five members of the National Assembly, while the MQM-P will have one representative on the committee. Dr Tariq Faisal Chaudhry has requested the MQM-P to nominate one member and urged the PPP to forward the names of its five nominees at the earliest to help expedite the process.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected to have nine members on the committee. Overall, the proposed composition envisages 15 members from the ruling coalition and five from the opposition.
Other parties within the government alliance, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia, may also be represented, with one member from each party reportedly under consideration. However, their final nominations and the complete composition of the committee have yet to be confirmed.
The formation of the parliamentary committee is expected to provide a forum for consultations among political parties on electoral reforms. Its composition, including representation from both the government and opposition, will be important in determining how proposals for changes to the electoral framework are discussed and developed.
The process of finalising nominations is now under way, with the government seeking an early response from its coalition partners to move forward with the committee’s formation.
