Monday, Jul 15, 2002
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
Though the Musharraf Government has announced that a certain percentage of seats would be reserved for `technocrats and women' in the National and Provincial Assemblies, it has so far not come up with a clear definition of a `technocrat'. The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, had referred to the issue in his Friday's address to the nation and said the term `technocrat' would soon be defined. There is also a great deal of confusion about the election to the Senate (equivalent to the Rajya Sabha in India). One of the amendments proposed to the suspended 1973 Constitution seeks to change the character of the Senate. As per the amendment, it would no longer be a permanent House and would have a fixed tenure of four years like the National Assembly. However, the seats would be filled on the basis of proportional representation. The party that polls more than 10 per cent of votes would be eligible to have representation in the Senate and its representation would be proportional to the percentage of votes at the national level. The notification of election to the National and Provincial Assemblies along with that of the Senate by Gen. Musharraf has created a great deal of confusion among the political parties as the statute amendment package has not yet been adopted. The military government has not only promised to carry out the amendments after a public debate but also committed to incorporate suggestions in the package. Several parties have raised questions on the notification for election to the Senate even before the promised debate and adoption of the amendment package by the Government. Their contention is that the notification shows that the Government has already made up its mind on the character of the Senate. The PPP in its letter has pointed out that while the Musharraf regime has provided for reserved seats for women in Parliament and the Provincial Assemblies, the qualifications and the mode through which such seats are to be filled have not been specified. On election to the Senate, the party said: "Article 59 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan provides that the Electoral College for the election of Members of the Senate from the respective Provinces shall be each Provincial Assembly. The regime may draw on the argument that the Constitution is under suspension. Nonetheless, the proclamation of Emergency and Provisional Constitutional Order No. 1 of 1999 provides that the country shall be governed as nearly as may be with the Constitution. Therefore, till an amendment to the Constitution is not promulgated by the regime, the Electoral College continues to remain the same." The PPP said that in such a case the holding of elections to the Senate on October 10 while its Electoral College i.e. the Provincial Assemblies, have not been elected is an anomaly.
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