ISLAMABAD: Once again, President Arif Alvi has returned the highly controversial Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 to the Parliament— without signing it into the law, terming the proposed law as “regressive” in nature, saying it has been “very painful” to him “personally as president of Pakistan, not to sign a bill passed by Majlis-e-Shoora”—in his letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday.
“I have been pursuing the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and overseas Pakistanis voting with all governments, in the Parliament, as well as with the Supreme Court of Pakistan since more than a decade. I have not signed the bill despite the fact, that the Constitution that I uphold, will make it into law,” the letter reads.
“It has been very painful to me personally as president of Pakistan, not to sign a bill passed by Majlis-e-Shoora. Therefore, I must record my reasons for posterity,” the president stated in the letter to PM.
“Besides the proposed law’s regressive nature that I pointed out in detail when I referred the bill back to Parliament, I strongly believe that technology today, especially with EVMs, when used judiciously, contains many solutions that reduce the impact of confusion, discord and accusations in our ‘ever-marred’ and challenged election processes,” Alvi observed in his letter.
Technology can also improve transparency, make elections inclusive with the vote of our overseas Pakistanis, build confidence and reduce polarisation to finally achieve our elusive dream of free and fair elections,” the letter read.
“More than that, I want Pakistan to leapfrog into the world of tomorrow, not to solve today’s problems only through the lens and experiences of yesterday but through newer and better scientific approaches that are available, or even ‘birthing’ today,” the president stated.
“I do understand that this cannot happen without confidence building measures across the aisles, and broad stakeholder involvement. Why was this not done and why the obvious was not visible to the opinion and decision makers will remain an enigma tome,” he added.
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According to the president, the present and future governments and parliaments will be facing two choices; “whether to allow the past to drag Pakistan down or allow the lessons from the past and technologies of today to boost us into the bright progressive and dynamic future of Pakistan that has been our dream. Many such decisions will continue to challenge us, and history shows that those who make the right decisions ‘rise’, and those who don’t, squander opportunities that obstruct their path to glory.”
It merits a mention here that the National Assembly passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 and the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2022 on May 26 and Senate passed these bills on May 27.
The Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 seeks reversal of the introduction of EVMs and voting rights to overseas Pakistanis through internet voting (i-voting) in the next general elections.
The National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2022 mainly seeks to clip the key powers of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in probing mega corruption cases. President refused to sign both the bills and returned them to the Parliament. Both highly controversial bills were then passed by Parliament’s joint session on June 9.
Article 75 (2) of the Constitution provides that when the president has returned a bill to the Majlis-e Shoora (Parliament), it shall be reconsidered by the Majlis-e-Shoora(Parliament) in joint sitting and, if it is again passed, with or without amendment, by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), by the votes of the majority of the members of both houses present and voting, it shall be deemed for the purposes of the Constitution to have been passed by both houses and shall be presented to the president, and the president shall give his assent within 10 days, failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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