Tag: EVMs

  • Early appointment of new army chief is not a bad idea, says President Alvi

    Early appointment of new army chief is not a bad idea, says President Alvi

    President Dr Arif Alvi was asked about an early appointment of the next army chief, which is due this November, in a meeting with journalists today.

    “It’s not such a bad idea,” Alvi said in response.

    According to reports, President Alvi said that this matter can be resolved through dialogue.

    President Alvi said that it has been suggested that he “plays his part” after meeting the army, naval, or air chiefs, which he “cannot do”. Elaborating further, Alvi said that as the president of Pakistan, he does not have the constitutional authority to ask parties to have a dialogue.

    He said that a dialogue is possible only when all the stakeholders agree. “The President House can play its role only in this case.”

    Neutrals need to remain neutral 

    “The neutrals need to remain neutral always,” the president said.

    “The elephant in the room has not yet appeared but it has been there for 50 years,” he said, adding that the matter is a ground reality and that it can be solved through dialogue.

    On relations with Shehbaz Sharif

    Alvi said that he has had many meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and this impression is wrong that his relationship with the prime minister is not so good. Since this government took power, the government has sent the president 74 summaries.

    Since the coalition government has come into the office, 69 out of 74 summaries have been signed on the day of receiving them, said Alvi.

    “I held back the summaries regarding NAB amendment Ordinance, electronic voting machines, and the Punjab governor but this was not due to any pressure,” he said.

    On talking with Imran Khan

    When asked, President Alvi said that he didn’t have any communication with PTI Chairman Imran Khan on the matter of EVMs and NAB amendment ordinance and the last time they spoke was when there was an issue regarding the Punjab governor.

  • ‘No reappointment or extension’: NA passes bill to amend NAB Laws

    ‘No reappointment or extension’: NA passes bill to amend NAB Laws

    The joint session of Parliament that took place on Thursday passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2021 with a majority in National Assembly (NA).

    The bill will be presented in the Senate today for approval. Once passed from the Upper House, the bill will apply to all cases, being probed by NAB since 1999. The key points of the bill are as follows:

    1- The NAB chairperson’s term has been reduced from four years to three years and will not be eligible for reappointment or an extension.

    2- Consultation for the chairperson of NAB will begin two months prior to the retirement of the previous chairperson.

    3- If the leader of the House and Opposition do not agree on a name for a chairperson, then the matter will go to a parliamentary committee. That too is now time-bound and the committee has 30 days to recommend a name.

    4- A closed inquiry cannot be reopened without permission from the courts and all inquiries by NAB have to now be completed within six months.

    5-People who initiate false or fabricated cases will now be punished with imprisonment of either five years or a fine.

    Federal Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar presented this bill. Speaking about the NAB law, he said it had been used to influence politicians, adding that “judges had also said that the NAB was used to corner politicians”.

    Supreme Court asks how cabinet members make amendments to law for own benefits

    Following the news of amendments in the NAB law and Election Act taking place in the House, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) took notice of the situation.

    The apex court inquired how could federal cabinet members make amendments benefitting themselves and directed the government to present the details of the cabinet members whose names have been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL).

    The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial asked Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf, “At whose behest did the Cabinet amend the rules pertaining to people involved in corruption and defaulters. Did the federal Cabinet approve the amendment in rules?”

    Responding to it, AGP Ausaf said that he would present the minutes of the Cabinet meeting for approval.

    Similarly, SC Justice Mazhar Naqvi was of the view that the cabinet members benefited from the amendment they approved.

    The AGP maintained that he would find out if the members who were on the no-travel list were part of the committee that approved the amendments or not.

    Justice Mazhar also observed how a minister facing allegations could make amendments to benefit himself.

    No electronic voting machines will be used in elections: Assembly passes bill

    The NA also passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 on Thursday with a majority, seeking to remove the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming general elections.

    Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi presented the bill, which was only opposed by Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA). The bill is expected to be sent to the Senate today.

    GDA lawmaker Ghous Bakhsh Mehr said that Pakistan should at least try using EVMs. “If not the whole country, then use them in some areas,” he said.

    Under the new bill, two amendments were being made to Sections 94 and 103 of the Election Act:

    1- In Section 94, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) may conduct pilot projects for voting by overseas Pakistanis in by-elections to ascertain the technical efficacy, secrecy, security, and financial feasibility of such voting and shall share the results with the government, which shall, within 15 days from the commencement of a session of a house after the receipt of the report, lay the same before both houses of parliament.

    2- In Section 103, the ECP may conduct pilot projects for the utilisation of EVMs and biometric verification system in the by-elections.

    Azam Nazeer Tarar said that these amendments will ensure free, fair, and transparent elections. He added that ECP had also raised objections to the use of EVMs.

    About the matter of Overseas Pakistanis’ vote, the federal minister said, “Overseas Pakistanis are a precious asset of the country and the government does not believe in snatching their right to vote.”

    Similarly, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) argued that the amendments will not deprive Overseas Pakistanis of their voting right.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s Focal Person on Digital Media Abubakar Umer also issued a clarification via Twitter on the matter. He said, “The overseas Pakistanis voting right remains intact. Only voting through EVM has been discarded due to ECP objections on some technical aspects.”

    The details of the expenses for the upcoming general elections were also presented in the NA session. The elections would cost approximately Rs47.41 billion, of which around Rs15 billion would be for ensuring security.

  • ECP accepts apologies of PTI’s Azam Swati, Fawad Chaudhry for their disrespectful comments

    ECP accepts apologies of PTI’s Azam Swati, Fawad Chaudhry for their disrespectful comments

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reportedly accepted the apologies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Minister for Railways Azam Swati and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry for their remarks against the election body.

    Swati said that the ECP was responsible for destroying Pakistan’s democracy and it should be set on fire. On the other hand, Chaudhry labelled ECP as the mouthpiece of the Opposition. Both ministers later apologised.

    Swati appeared before the ECP, where he was pardoned and warned to exercise caution in the future.

    While questioning his absence from earlier hearings, the ECP inquired, “You are a busy man, why didn’t you appear in previous hearings?”

    Upon this, Swati remarked that he has always advocated for the independence of the ECP.

    “All the institutions are yours; it is not appropriate to talk bad about them,” the ECP remarked.

    Swati expressed gratitude to the ECP for accepting his apology and stated that the commission will make sound judgments regarding Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

    In September, the ECP had sent notices to the ministers. In November, Chaudhry appeared before the ECP and apologised. Swati did not show up at that time.

  • ‘Local government elections can’t be held with EVMs, says Shibli Faraz

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz has said that electronic voting machines (EVMs) are not designed for the type of local government elections we have in Pakistan.

    Shibli said that the EVMs could be used only for direct elections of nazims of tehsils and districts for which there is only one panel of contestants.

    Faraz said that in our local government elections there are multiple panels for different types of seats.

    On the other hand, the Election Commission demanded that it wanted to see the new draft Local Government Amendment Act by the Punjab government to hold the coming LG polls under Electronic Voting Machines. 

    Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said that if the government tries to hold the upcoming elections using EVMs he will burn them.

  • ‘Aag laga de gaye’: PML-N Rana Sanaullah warns government

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said if the government tries to hold the upcoming elections using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) he will burn them.

    In a press conference on Friday, Sanaullah while talking about foreign loans stated, “Pakistan has gone bankrupt. The entire economy including the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been handed over to International Monetary Fund (IMF).”

    He said, “Electronic machine par intekhaab hua toh machino ko polling station se nikal kar aag laga de gaye” (We will try every strategy against EVMs. If the election is held through this [EVMs], we will take out the machines from polling stations and set them on fire.)

    Talking about PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s leaked audio, he claimed that the government is exaggerating about the relevance of the audio.

    Prior to this, Rana talked about EVMs in a show and said if the government tries to force the elections through EVMs, the party would be left with no option but to follow the TLP way of protesting.

  • PML-N will protest like TLP if govt forces electronic voting

    PML-N will protest like TLP if govt forces electronic voting

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said that if the government tries to force the elections through Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), the party would be left with no option but to follow the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) way of protesting.

    Sanaullah, in a Geo News Programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ stated that the other way to protest is in and outside of Parliament.

    He said, “The current government does not even have an idea of the dynamics of the polling stations and if EVMs were used, the 2023 elections would turn controversial even before they are held.”

    Shahzeb asked Rana that the Opposition can go to court over the EVM issue. To which he replied, “We will go to court. But if nothing happens, we won’t let this election happen at any cost.”

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said it is vital for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold all upcoming by-elections using EVMs. In case the ECP fails to do so, the government will not be able to release funds under the law.

  • Joint parliamentary session: All you need to know about what happened

    Joint parliamentary session: All you need to know about what happened

    The much anticipated joint parliamentary session on Wednesday left dark clouds over the future of the country’s legislation system.

    Number game of parliamentarians:

    The government needed a majority in the joint sitting of houses to pass bills where the total strength was 440 members.

    The party position in parliament showed that the treasury had a majority of just two votes if the two Houses were combined together. According to party position, the number of Opposition members in the 440-member joint House came to 219 against 221 treasury members, 221 members of the government and its allies were present with 213 members of the Opposition.

    Bills to be reviewed:

    More than a dozen bills were presented in parliament.

    The major bills: Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Voting rights to overseas Pakistanis were passed in the absence of Opposition.

    The other bills include:

    The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill

    The Hyderabad Institute for Technical and Management Sciences Bill, 2021

    The State Bank of Pakistan Banking Services Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021

    The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2021

    Security arrangements:

    The in-house security of the National Assembly (NA) was made to stand in front of the Speaker dice to prevent the Opposition members from reaching the dice and cause a commotion.

    Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) leader Hina Rabbani Khar termed the situation as “martial law”.

    https://twitter.com/Hina_RKhar/status/1460907005141467141?s=20

    Ruckus in NA:

    During voting, things got heated up from both sides.

    In a video, PPP’s Qadir Mandokhel can be seen involved in a fight with the government representatives.

    The decorum of the House couldn’t stay still, copies of the agenda books were torn, pieces of paper were thrown at Speaker NA Asad Qaiser.

    A heated exchange of words took place between Qaiser and parliamentarians.

    Qaiser lashing out at the parliamentarians. “Stay within your limits, mend your way of talking.”

    Opposition walkout:

    The Opposition walked out of the House giving the government a chance to pass the bills. They argued that the Opposition’s votes counted were fewer than actual numbers and eventually walked out.

    Session now led by Senate Chairman:

    Speaker Asad Qaiser will no longer be chairing the proceedings after the passage of important legislation. Instead, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani will lead parliamentary proceedings.

    Reaction:

    Twitterati reacted to the heated situation in parliament.

  • ‘Set Election Commission on fire,’ PTI’s Azam Swati accuses ECP of taking bribes

    ‘Set Election Commission on fire,’ PTI’s Azam Swati accuses ECP of taking bribes

    Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati on Friday accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of taking bribes and being on the payroll of ‘someone’.

    Swati said that the ECP was responsible for destroying Pakistan’s democracy and for rigging all elections. Swati added that such institutions should be “set on fire”. This happened when the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs met today to vote on two key election bills.

    When the meeting started, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan said that the government would like to respond to the ECP’s 37 objections to the proposed introduction of electronic voting machines (EVMs). While Awan was giving the government’s answers point-by-point to the ECP’s objections, suddenly Azam Swati interjected and accused the ECP of taking money. Opposition members present in the meeting strongly objected to this accusation and protested.

    As the Opposition members were protesting, ECP representatives present in the meeting all got up and said that they will not tolerate such behaviour and are boycotting the meeting. ECP representatives then walked out.

    Chair Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs Senator Taj Haider asked a few Opposition members to go and talk to the ECP representatives so as to bring them back to the meeting. By the time Senator Kamran Murtaza went to bring them back, the ECP delegation had left the building.

    Meanwhile, Azam Swati kept hurling accusations at the ECP even after the constitutional body’s representatives had left. Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and other Opposition members condemned Swati’s remarks and said that he cannot accuse a constitutional body of taking bribes, and asked for proof.

    Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar asked Swati: “Kis se paisay pakrray hain ECP ne? Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) se ya Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) se?”

    [Translation: Tell us who has given money to the ECP? PPP or PML-N?]

    Swati and Khokhar then had a heated exchange.

    “I told Swati that the government should stop browbeating the ECP. It is a constitutional body. How can the government accuse a body of taking bribes without any proof — only because the ECP does not agree with the government on EVMs? Such accusations are shameful,” Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar told The Current. Senator Khokhar added that the government must apologise to the ECP.

    After things calmed down, Babar Awan asked for permission to continue with his answers to the ECP objections. He was then told that since the ECP members are not present anymore, he cannot continue in their absence. The standing committee then decided to vote on the amendments but the government raised objections as Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri was not present in the meeting. Due to her absence, the Opposition members were in majority today. The government asked that she should be allowed to vote via video link.

    According to sources, Senator Zehri had missed her flight from Karachi in the morning. The government wanted to delay the voting till she could take a flight and reach Islamabad after the Friday prayers. It should be noted that Senator Samina Zehri had been included in the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs by Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani in order to tilt the balance towards the government in the Senate panel, as per Dawn.

    The Senate panel rejected the government’s proposed amendments but the government members walked out and did not take part in the voting process and walked out.

    Babar Awan tweeted that the government will get the two election bills passed through a joint session of parliament.