National Democratic Foundation

Latest Column by Chairman, NDF on Electoral Reforms

Roznama Dunya

ELECTORAL REFORMS THE ONLY WAY OUT FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE AND GOVERNANCE

Speech of Mr. Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad, Chairman
National Democratic Foundation
On 20th May 2017 at Islamabad

Excellences, ladies and gentlemen!

Since its creation in 1947, Pakistan has been going through a turmoil of inefficient and ineffective governance system, which has grossly led to an unrest in the society. Pakistan, though having rich natural and human resource, has not capitalized opportunities due to many factors, among which unsustainable governance, inefficient bureaucracy and arbitrary democratic system plagued with problems and corruption are the key factors. The democratic, governance and judicial system in Pakistan is widely seen to be arbitrary and corrupt and has to be changed.

Yet Pakistan is seeing another major opportunity of transformation in the form of CPEC, however, our concern is that its true benefits should reach to the poor masses who are living in a state of misery mainly in rural areas but also in urban centres. It is beyond imagination that how a labourer earning 2-3 thousand rupees a month is surviving these days. The stories of mismanagement in government social safety net programs, such as BISP are the beauty lines of every newspaper every day, which is simply due to inefficient government. The older people and pensioners once used to happily surviving on the government saving schemes are at the mercy of open market interest rates. All okay reports and onset or completion of mega projects do not represent ground realities, my dears!

As Pakistan is now a key player of one-road, one-belt program, the sustainable peace and governance here is a key to success of this program which is likely to bring changes and transformations in many countries in the region and beyond and perhaps show a light to the poor peasants of this country, who are at the mercy of mill owners and importers of agricultural products from India.

The sustainable peace and governance is related with an efficient and transparent electoral system which is not good in the present form. The transparency of elections of 2013 has been widely questioned by all the parties which has led to turmoil in politics during the last 5 years and challenged peace in the country and harnessing of economic benefits. I will not hesitate to say that the present and previous democratic governments have wasted 10 years of the nation, and by introducing constitutional amendment 18, the federation has become weakened. Everyone had high expectations with this amendment but it has proved to be lethal for the federation and should be immediately withdrawn. At the top of it, the media which is an important pillar of democracy and government has also not behaved responsibly and helped in national agenda setting.

The National Democratic Foundation strongly advocates for electoral reforms prior to 2018 elections, which will be foundation stone of free, fair and transparent elections and peace in the country in future, success of CPEC and regional peace. I wish that the opposition leadership could have demanded rigorous electoral reforms rather than wasting time of the nation, media and its own time in making protests on less important issues in the country. My philosophy is to nip the evil in the bud, rather than going for hunting the evils but not attacking on the breeding ground of corruption and inefficient democratic system which in fact invites protests by masses and martial-law.

The NDF, since its inception is advocating for electoral reforms, and has been organizing roundtable discussions, and advocating reforms in print and electronic media to achieve this novel goal. I would like to capitalize this opportunity of meeting with you to kick-off some ideas, which the members of Advisory Council of NDF, media and donor community in Pakistan should advocate until the goal is achieved. The major international donors like UNDP, European Union, USAID, DFID and other European countries could help reach our voice in discussions with the politicians of Pakistan and in other countries. We have already submitted 25 recommendations to the Chairman of Parliament Committee for Electoral Reforms, Mr. Ishaq Dar, Chief Justice, Speaker of National Assembly, Chairman Senate, Heads of all the political parties and important politicians. Besides short-term cosmetics in electoral process which we had discussed in a Round Table held in March 2017, I would like to present some of the long-term recommendations:

1. Appointment of caretaker Prime Minister is the most important point. The caretaker Prime Minister should be a vibrant personality who is physically and mentally fit to undertake stressful workload. A committee comprising of Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chairman Senate should jointly select 3 names for the Caretaker Prime Minister, and final vetting should be done by the Army Chief and Chief Justice of Pakistan. Since, the Army Chief has to manage the internal and external security of the country, he should be highly vigilant with the national political, financial, environmental and social issues, and his role in the selection of Caretaker Prime Minister should be recognised.

2. The tenure of the government should be reduced to 4 years meaning thereby that all assemblies including local government should be dissolved after every 4 years for re-election. The speed of technology and international development directly impacts the velocity of time, therefore, the window of opportunity for a government to perform should be rationalized in line with the aspirations of people.

3. The quota for dedicated seats for women in the parliament should be eliminated, rather every contesting party should be directed to give 10% of the seats to women.

4. Political leaders should be allowed to function as political party’s office bearers for only 2 consecutive terms to ensure that dynasty politics does not grow in our political culture and that cross section of the political party members should get the opportunity to rise to the leadership cadres.

5. Additional category of ‘none for above’ candidates should be added to the ballot paper to give the legitimate right to the voters who are not satisfied with any of the elections contesting candidates. Thus opening way of re-elections for constituencies where majority of voters reject candidates nominated by political parties. Registered voters in a given constituency should also be given the right to declare ‘no-confidence’ against contesting candidates nominated by political parties (including independent candidates). Such declaration should be documented by the majority of voters in the constituency in a written form and submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan to formalize re-composition of candidates or announce re-elections. This system is succefully practised in Bangladesh and India.

6. We strongly feel that the ECP should work like an independent institution and it should not be under the influence of the government. The Election Commission should be constituted by the joint parliament and vetted by the Judicial Committee instead of parliamentary committee. This system is being practiced in Canada, Thailand and Indonesia.

7. The development funds for parliamentarians should be vanished and given to the Local Government.

8. The electronic voting machine system has become controversial in USA and France. In India High Courts of 3 states declared this system as unreliable. The Assembly of state of Delhi has also declared that the electronic voting machine system has been tempered. Therefore, the political parties and ECP should drop the idea of electronic voting system as it will further complicate the system and will create more doubts.

9. All the winning independent candidates should be made mandatory not to join any political party, whereas they should form independent group in the parliament.

10. If any political party wins less than 10% of the national or each provincial assembly seats, then all the seats of that party should be transferred to the majority party. This will ensure eradication of black-mailing and pressure groups. This system is also being successfully practiced in Turkey.

11. There should be separate Returning officers for the national and provincial assembly seats which will reduce workload on them for legal and administrative matters.

12. In each Polling station, a Polling Assistant should be appointed only for the election day who will observe the ex*****on of election and closely observe the attitude and behaver of political parties, polling agents, elections and administrative staff. He / she should be a retired civil or military official or a community notable from the same constituency but not having affiliation with any party.

13. The Polling Agent at each Polling station should be given observer status and his/her attendance in the Polling station should be mandatory during the election hours and attendance sheet should be submitted to ECP along with the election result of a given constituency after due verification by the concerned Presiding Officer.

14. The consolidation of the results should be done under section 39 of the Representation of People Act 1976 and not rely on Form 14. The Returning Officer must physically verify [recounting] the votes to verify and validate contents of Form 14, in order to fill accurate and verified data on Form 16.

15. Along with Form 16 [Polling station wise result summary by the Returning Officer and Form 17 [candidate wise result summary by the Returning Officer], the Returning Officer must submit Form, 14 [summary of counting by the Presiding Officer] and form 15 [Ballot paper count by Presiding Officer] on mandatory. By adopting this way, the ECP shall have complete record in its possession rather than being dependent on lower tiers and the number of complaints to Election Tribunal will automatically reduce.

16. Form 14-16-17 should be uploaded on ECP website as soon as these are received.

17. The Returning Officers in person, should be held responsible for rigging. For the purpose, amended version of Section 68 of the Representation of People Act 1975 should be adopted.

18. The ECP should be required to submit all collected record about the sources of party funds to the Speaker National Assembly for debate and conclusion on it at the level of National Assembly. This system is also being practised in India.

19. The Election Commission of Pakistan should be given observer role in the intra-party elections under Political Parties Order 2002 Article 11 and 12.

Ladies and gentlemen

I thank you for your time and listening to me patiently and keenly. I am sure that you will continue to advocate NDF for better governance, peace and development in Pakistan and in the region for some of the ideas which have been mentioned by
Dr. Inayatullah.

Thank you very much.

Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad
+92 300 856 9691

NDF PRESS RELEASE

National Democratic Foundation A Takes A Lead to Establish Malaysia – Pakistan Commonwealth Development Centre – Kanwar Dilshad.

NDF Press Release [20 April 2017]: The National Democratic Foundation (NDF) organized a dinner in the honour of His Excellency Dr. Dato Lim Siow Jin, Founder and CEO of DXN International Malaysia. At the occasion, Mr. Kunwar Muhammad Dilshad, Chairman, NDF said that we are proud of the development which Malaysia has achieved in the area of human and industrial development. It has really emerged as an Asian Tiger in the region, which is a matter of pride for all the Asians. The contributions of H. E. Dato Lim Siow Jin in the area of medical industry and humanitarian services are especially noteworthy. In recognition to his services, the Malaysian Government has honoured him with the title of Dato. His contributions are great.

Mr. Kunwar Dilshad further emphasized that the other countries, like Pakistan should emulate the policies and programmes of Malaysia. He proposed to establish Malaysia – Pakistan Commonwealth Development Centre. The objectives of this centre will be learning from each other through research and exchange of ideas by way of exchange of specialists, sabbatical of experts from both countries for placement in research and education centres and organization of joint conferences on various themes to alert Pakistan citizenry and government, through media to learn from Malaysian experience. The sectors in which the centre would work in collaboration with Malaysia are health, education, economic development, trade, media, film production and peaceful and sustainable governance. He emphasized that Pakistan should benefit the experience of Malaysia in Electoral System. H. E. Dato Lim Siow Jin appreciated the idea and offered all his support to work on this noble cause.

Mr. Sheikh Rashid Alam, President South NDF and Mr. Sohail Kisat, President National Democratic Foundation, expressed their gratitude to H. E. Dato Lim Siow Jin on behalf of NDF for visiting Pakistan and particularly giving the opportunity of meeting with the NDF Council of Advisors and friends of NDF. Mr. Sohail Kisat said that it is important to learn from the experiences of Malaysia and there are opportunities for investment, trade, media and film production as means for learning from Malaysian experience. The Council of Advisors of NDF designated Mr. Sohail Kisat as President, Malaysia-Pakistan Commonwealth Development Centre.

Released by:

Jamshaid Babar
Media Coordinator, National Democratic Foundation (NDF)
22-A, Main Nazimuddin Road, F-7/1, Islamabad
Tel: +92 51 2654699 Cell: +92 321 4083732
Email: [email protected]

NDF Press Release

Zardari, Bilawal have tied them with electoral rules bomb:
Kanwar Dilshad

NDF Islamabad (January 06, 2017): A Pandora box is likely to open and to create extreme embarrassment and discomfiture for Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari soon they would file their nomination papers to the Elections Commission of Pakistan. Not only they both would face serious legal and political repercussions they haven’t faced as yet despite the fact Asif Ali Zardari had been President of the country with same aspect that are now emerging with full speed.
ECP former federal secretary and NDF Chairman Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad said.
He pointed that Asif Ali Zardari is Chairman of PPP Parliamentarian and Co-Chairman of PPP while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is Chairman of PPP and Co-Chairman of PPP Parliamentarian. This is in violation of clause 5 of Political Parties Order-2002, which clearly prohibits one to use name, colour or platform of other party while Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are using both parties.
According to this situation, if allowed, the ECP would issue different electoral symbols and they would contest elections in opposition to each other. Arrow could be the electoral symbol of Zardari while Bilawal would get a different electoral symbol from the ECP, he added.
In case, Bilawal wins the by-elections and subsequent to that victory becomes member of national assembly, he would be a lonely MNA from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) because the numbers of MNAs and Senators are from Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP). Bilawal with one seat in national assembly (NA) would be dependent on his father for becoming leader of opposition in NA, said Dilshad.
The former federal secretary and NDF Chairman Kanwar Dilshad also said that at the time of filing his nomination papers, Zardari would be legally bound to declare his assets and wealth, bank accounts, moveable and immoveable property, Surrey Palace, $60 million in Swiss Banks here within the country and abroad as would be required under clause 12 of Public Representation Act-1976.
He would also be legally bound to annex his academic testimonials and degrees and despite that the he had with the help of Justice (Retd) Abdul Hameed Dogar removed the condition of bachelor Degree, he would still be legally bound to fill the column in nomination paper that pertains to academic qualification. In the columns of assets, Zardari would also be legally bound to declare Bilawal Houses in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, Sugar Mills and list of Palaces in France. Bilawal would face similar legal bondages on filing his nomination papers, added the former secretary Dilshad.
He said that the use of two parties is punishable under the constitution and not only these two but all the party Parliamentarians, who supports them might also get punished by declaration of ineligibility.
“Zardari and Bilawal would have no other option except to let go the Chairmanship and Co-Chairmanship of one party and stay in one party.” “Zardari and Bilawal would be compelled to declare all their wealth and property in country and abroad. This particular situation would also lead to reopening of all previous reference once again.”
While referring to a constitutional petition (CP) filed by a Pakistani-American citizen in the Lahore High Court, the former federal secretary Kanwar Dilshad said that it is worth mentioning here that Lahore High Court has consented to hear that petition on this matter and since the contents and inserts in that CP are very valid, the petition might prove devastating to Zardaris.
If so, those Parliamentarians, who facilitated Zardari, would also be facing the legal repercussions, opined the former federal secretary.
As a matter of Fact, both Zardaris have tied them to a bomb of electoral rules, commented Dilshad.
He was at the other of the view that in case, Zardari wins the by-elections, he would take the seat of leader of opposition and thus he would be in a position to bargain over the selection of interim set-up for the conduction of general elections-2018. Having become the leader of opposition, PPPP might get strength in Punjab through newly appointed provincial leaders such as Aetizaz Ahsan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Shaukat Basra, Sardar Lateef Khosa and others.
He urged upon the NA members should peruse the report on electoral reforms presented by federal finance minister Ishaq Dar for the greater sake of the state of Pakistan as the recommendations laid in that report do not suggest for any measure for removing confusion and establishing fairness and transparency.
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Released by:

Jamshaid Babar
Media Coordinator, National Democratic Foundation (NDF)
22-A, Main Nazimuddin Road, F-7/1, Islamabad
Tel: +92 51 2654699 Cell: +92 321 4083732
Email: [email protected]

این ڈی ایف پریس ریلیز

پارلیمانی اصلاحات کے پیکیج سے دھاندلی کا تدارک نہیں ہوگا (کنور محمد دلشاد)

اسلام آباد۔(20دسمبر2016):کنور محمد دلشاد، چیئر مین نیشنل ڈیموکریٹک فاؤنڈیشن و سابق وفاقی سیکریٹری الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان نے انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی کی سفارشات پر اپنے رد عمل کا اظہار کرتے ہوئے خدشات کا اظہار کیا ہے کہ اس فیصلے سے انتخابی دھاندلیوں کے ازالے کے لئے مثبت جامع حکمت عملی تیار نہیں کی گئی، ان سے 27 ویں ترامیم سے انتخابی بے قاعدگیوں اور بے ضابطگیوں کا سدباب نہیں ہو سکے گا اور زمینی حقائق کے مدنظر نظر ثانی کی ضرورت ہے۔

کنور محمد دلشاد نے کہا کہ قوانین میں تبدیلیوں کے بارے میں جو سفارشات پیش کی ہیں ان سے انتخابات میں بے قاعدگیوں ، بے ضابطگیوں اور دھاندلیوںکی روک تھام کے لئے موثر اقدامت نہیں اٹھائے گئے، انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی نے جن قوانین کو انتخابی اصلاحات میں شامل کیا ہے وہی قوانین موجودہ عوامی نمائندگی ایکٹ 76 میں واضح طور پر پہلے ہی شامل ہیں، عوامی نمائندگی ایکٹ 76 میں کاغذات نامزدگی کے فارم میں ویلتھ ٹیکس کے گوشواروے ہی تبدیل کرنے سے ان عوامی نمائندوں کی حوصلہ افزائی ہوگی جو بیرون ممالک میں اپنی جائیدادیں پوشیدہ رکھتے ہیں۔ کاغذات نامزدگی کے متعلق جو فارم موجود ہیں ان کو ہی برقرار رکھا جائے، مجوزہ پیکج کے تحت امیدواروں کے لئے اثاثوں کی تفصیلات جمع کرانے کا طریقہ کار تبدیل کر کے امیدواروں کو نئے طریقے کار میں اپنے اور ایل خانہ کے ویلتھ ٹیکس کی تفصیلات دینے سے کرپٹ عناصر کو بالواسطہ فوائد حاصل ہوں گے۔

کنور محمد دلشاد نے مزید کہا کہ الیکٹرانک ووٹنگ ، بائیو میٹرک ووٹنگ اور اورسیز پاکستانیوں کو ووٹ دینے کا فیصلہ خوش آئیند ہے، الیکٹرونک ووٹنگ مشین کا طریقہ کار حالیہ امریکی انتخابات میں روس کی مداخلت سے انتخابی عمل مین بین الاقوامی مداخلت کی نشان دہی سامنے آچکی ہے، پاکستان میں الیکٹرونک ووٹنگ مشین کے طریقہ کار موجودہ تناظر میں زیادہ کامیابی کے امکانات نظر نہیں آرہے ہیں، ڈیٹا ہیکر ہونے کے امکانات کو خارج از امکان قرار نہیں دیا جا سکتا، بھارتی الیکشن میں نریندر مودی کی کامیابی کی پشت پر یہی عناصر کام کر رہے تھے جنہوں نے ڈیٹا ہیکر کرکے نریندر مودی کی کامیابی کی راہ ہموار کی۔

انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی نے الیکشن ٹربیونل کی سماعت روزانہ کی بنیاد پر انتخابی عذر داریاں کرنے کا جو فیصلہ کیا ہے وہ عوامی نمائیندگی ایکٹ 76 میں پہلے ہی سے موجود ہے اور اس پر عمل درآمد کرانے میں الیکشن کمیشن کو کامیابی اسی لئے نہیں ہو سکی ان کی راہ میں عدالتی فیصلے ہی آتے رہے۔ انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی کو چاہئے تھا کہ ان عدالتی رکاوٹوں کو دور کرنے کے لئے طریقہ وضع کرنے کی جامع تجویز پیش کرنی چاہئے تھی۔ سیاسی جماعتوںکی رجسٹریشن کے بارے میں جو طریقہ کار واضح کیا گیا ہے، وہ خوش آئیند ہے اس سے خود ساختہ جماعتوں کی حوصلہ شکنی ہوگی۔

کنور محمد دلشاد نے کہا کہ انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی نے اپنی سفارشات میں جو بعض شقیں شامل کی ہیں وہ وہی ہیں جسے الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان نے انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی کی رپورٹ جو 11 مارچ 2009 کو اس وقت کے وزیر اعظم یوسف رضا گیلانی کو پیش کی تھیں جو بعد ازاں پارلیمانی کمیٹی کا حصہ بن گئی تھیں اور میں نے بطور وفاقی سیکریٹری الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان و چیئر مین انتخابی اصلاحات کمیتی کو مرتب کی تھیں ور جس کی منظوری اس وقت کے چیف الیکشن کمشنر جسٹس قاضی محمد فاروق نے دی تھی۔

انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی کی سفارشات عمومی طور پر ایسی سفارشات ہین جن سے انتخابی عمل میں دھاندلیوں کا سد باب نہیں ہو سکے گا، موجودہ انتخابی اصلاحات محض عوامی سول سوسائٹیوں اور میڈیاکے لئے چشم پوشی کی ہی حیثیت رکھتا ہے۔

انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی نے بیرونی ممالک سے فنڈنگ حاصل کر نے والی انٹرنیشنل این جی اوز، یو ۔این۔ڈی۔پی ، یو ۔ ایس۔ایڈ اور یورپی یونین ممالک کے دباؤ کے تحت خواتین کے ووٹروں کا 10 فیصد سے کم ٹرن آؤٹ سے اسی حلقہ انتخاب کو کالعدم قرار دینے کی صورت میں تنازعہ پیدا ہوگا کیونکہ بلوچستان اور صوبہ خیبر پختون خوا میں ثقافتی روایات اور اقدار کے تحت گھروں سے نکل کر ووٹ ڈالنے سے گریز کیا جاتا ہے، اس شق پر عمل درآمد سے پاکستانی ثقافتی اقدار پر حرف آئے گا۔ انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی نے الیکشن میں دھاندلیوں ، بے قاعدگیوں اور بے ضابطگیاں ثابت ہونے پر ریٹرننگ آفیسران کو ذمہ دار قرار دینے کے بارے میں کوئی سفارش کو نظر انداز کر کے آئیندہ انتخابات کے لئے دھاندلیوں کے دروازے ہی کھول دیئے۔

کنور محمد دلشاد نے تجویز پیش کی ہے کہ 27 ویں ترمیم پیش کرنے سے پہلے انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی اپنے سفارشات کو مزید جامع اور زمینی حقائق کے عین مطابق بنانے کے لئے از سر نو نظر ثانی کریں اور 27 ویں ترمیم سے پہلے عوام سے حتمی رائے لینے کے لئے فی الحال چاروں صوبائی اسمبلیوں میں اعلامیہ بحث کروائی جائے اور مشترکہ مفادات کونسل سے بھی حتمی کر کے حاصل کی جائے۔

ّّّّّّ۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔
جمشید بابر,میڈیا کوآرڈینیٹر، نیشنل ڈیموکریٹک فائونڈیشن ( این ڈی ایف)
22-A ، مین ناظم الدین روڈF-7/1۔اسلام آباد
فون: 051-2654699 ، موبائل:0321-4083732
Email:[email protected]

NDF Press Release

Raheel Sharif can become Care-taker Prime Minister – Kanwar M. Dilshad

NDF Islamabad (November 30, 2016): There is no legal hindrance for General (R) Raheel Sharif to become part of Care-taker setup for upcoming General Election in Pakistan, said by Chairman National Democratic Foundation (NDF) and Former Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan Kanwar Dilshad, here in Islamabad at NDF Secretariat on 30th November 2016.

Chairman NDF maintained that Raheel Sharif can also give his technical and analytical views on defense related country matters by refraining himself from political activities, like General (R) Mirza Aslam Baig did after his retirement. He added that Care-taker setup is a purely neutral and impartial arrangement for transitional phase in democratic process thus no political activity prevail to limit Raheel Sharif in becoming Care-taker Prime Minister. The Constitution of Pakistan is completely silent on it, however, only the service rules prevent not to indulge in pure political activities for a period of two years.

He further advised that such an arrangement would further strengthen democracy by ensuring trust of all stakeholders who have highest regards towards the professional, impartial and honest personality of Raheel Sharif.
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Released by:

Jamshaid Babar
Media Coordinator, National Democratic Foundation (NDF)
22-A, Main Nazimuddin Road, F-7/1, Islamabad
Tel: +92 51 2654699 Cell: +92 321 4083732
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http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/11/25/city/ndf-demands-provincial-status-for-fata/

NDF demands provincial status for FATA NDF demands provincial status for FATA City Islamabad48 seconds ago BY Staff Report The National Democratic Foundation (NDF) has demanded that the government approve the necessary constitutional amendments and declare the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to be the 5th province of the count...

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