40 proposals submitted to PM to make elections transparent: Dilshad- Provinces would be free to take decision about LG system after 31st Dec.2009.

ISLAMABAD, November 13, 2009 (Balochistan Times): Former Secretary Election Commission Kanwar Dilshad has said that forty proposals have been submitted to the Prime Minister for bringing amendments in electoral laws to ward off allegations about rigging of elections. Former Secretary Election Commission said it has become a normal practice in Pakistan that defeated parties always accuse the sitting Government for rigging and in return the Election Commission claiming that elections were fair. He said the proposals he had submitted to the Prime Minister include nomination of the caretaker Prime Minister in consultation with the Election Commission and giving more powers to the Commission as it enjoys less powers than its counterparts in India and other democratic countries. He said this would help a lot in ensuring free, fair and transparent elections. He said in India, the Election Commission is strong because it has bi-partisan support but that is not the case in Pakistan. He proposed that there should be a column in the ballot paper giving choice to the electorates to stamp the column of they have any undesired candidate having bad reputation. This would motivate the people for a large turnout and at the same time political parties would avoid nominating candidates having poor reputation in the eyes of the masses. He appreciated the proposal of Deputy Chairman of the Senate Jam Jamali that members of the upper House of Parliament should also be elected directly rather than indirectly through Assemblies. This would bring an end to purchase of votes by the mighty and help in people of good credibility to come to the Senate. Kanwar Dilshad denied that 2002 elections were rigged to facilitate the PML-Q to form a government. He said the main reason that the PPP and the PML-N lost seats was the absence of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif from the country during election campaign. He rebuffed the impression that a sensitive institution pressured the election commission to change the results. He said this propaganda was launched by some NGOs, who are running on foreign aid and has nothing to do with reality. To a question, he said after 31st December, 2009 Provinces would be independent to decide about the future of local government system.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)