National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has written to the prime minister, the Senate chairman and the opposition leader seeking nominations for a 30-member electoral reforms committee, according to sources familiar with the move.
He asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as leader of the house, to put forward 15 names; Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani to nominate 10 senators; and opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to submit five members. The speaker has urged all three to send nominations at the earliest so that the parliamentary panel can be notified once the lists arrive.
How the 30 seats are to be filled
The proposed electoral reforms committee is meant to draw members from both the government and the opposition in proportion to their strength in Parliament. That approach follows the usual practice that each political party is represented according to its numbers in the assemblies.
The letter sent to the prime minister has been handed to Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry. Sources said the committee is likely to be set up before the upcoming sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate.
What the speaker has confirmed
Ayaz Sadiq confirmed that he had written to all three leaders. He said parliamentary traditions require each political party to receive representation on such a body according to its numerical strength. The confirmation matches the nomination breakdown already sought from the house leader, the Senate chair and the opposition leader.
No public list of members has been issued yet. The notification for the 30-member electoral reforms committee will come only after the three offices return their names.
What happens next
The next step is for the prime minister, the Senate chairman and the opposition leader to finalise and forward their nominees. Once those names are in, the speaker’s office can issue the formal notification creating the committee.
Until then, the panel exists only as a proposed body. How soon it begins work will depend on how quickly the three leaders respond and on the timing of the next parliamentary sessions.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq ne electoral reforms ke liye 30 arkaan ki committee banana chahi hai. Wazir-e-Azam se 15, Senate chairman se 10 aur opposition leader se 5 naam mange gaye hain. Jab yeh naam aa jayenge tab committee ka official elaan hoga. Yeh committee Parliament mein parties ki taaqat ke mutabiq banegi.
