United Opposition Meeting Fails to Reach Consensus on Joining Electoral Reforms Committee; Decision Deferred to Upcoming All Parties Conference After Divergent Views Emerge
ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the United Opposition did not reach a clear agreement on any decision on its involvement in the Electoral Reforms Committee in parliament, instead scheduling it for an All Parties Conference (APC) to be held shortly for further discussion.
Sources close to the matter said that there were mixed comments from the opposition parties’ member organisations during the meeting. Some of the leaders of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) also voiced their support for the electoral reforms, saying that the process of reforming the legislative system could result in some important changes and fill the loopholes. On the other hand, the leaders from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were more reserved. Leaders of PTI argued that the elections laws already in place are sufficient and any new reforms would be redundant if implementation and transparency is still a problem.
The 2 parties discussed various issues and agreed on a number of recommendations.The United Opposition Meeting and Sub-Committee Formation gave rise to some key highlights.
Consensus-Building Efforts: The United Opposition, although not on the same ground on the nominations to the Electoral Reforms Committee, agreed to make a concerted effort to arrive at a unified position.
A two-member opposition Sub-Committee was set up to: To overcome the political divide and to develop a unified plan of action. The panel consists of PTI leader Salman Akram Raja and JUI Senator.
Before the coming of the All Parties Conference, the new sub-committee has been given the mandate to draft down to earth recommendations and a single policy framework.