The government has decided to allocate two seats each to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the proposed Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms (PCER).
The committee is being established to facilitate timely electoral reforms and ensure that future general elections are conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
However, the PTI has yet to agree to join the proposed panel, with the party expected to make a final decision during a joint opposition meeting in the coming days.
Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, who is serving as the government’s focal person for the proposed committee, announced on Thursday that the PML-N, PPP and PTI would each receive two seats.
In a statement posted on X, he said the Awami National Party (ANP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), National Party (NP) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) would each be given one seat.
Chaudhry said the prime minister, as leader of the house, and the deputy prime minister would finalise the committee members after consultations with the opposition, coalition partners and relevant parliamentary leadership.
Meanwhile, a PPP source indicated that the committee’s chairperson would most likely be nominated from the party.
According to the source, the possibility was discussed during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari at the Prime Minister’s House, where it was suggested that the chairmanship could be given to the PPP.
PTI Chief Whip in the National Assembly Aamir Dogar said his party had not agreed to become part of the committee due to the government’s attitude towards the opposition.
He added that the PTI would reach a final decision on its participation during an upcoming joint opposition meeting. Dogar also said the opposition had called a multi-party conference to determine its future political strategy.
Earlier this week, the government formally approached its coalition partners, including the PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), seeking nominations for the proposed committee as part of efforts to bring parliamentary parties together for discussions on electoral reforms.
The PPP has already submitted the names of its lawmakers for representation on the committee, although the nominations have not yet been made public.
The government also contacted the opposition on Tuesday to seek its representation. However, opposition parties described the proposed committee as a “futile exercise” unless their longstanding demands were addressed.
Tariq Fazal Chaudhry had also approached Aamir Dogar, requesting nominations of opposition lawmakers. Dogar, however, raised objections to the proposed composition and called for equal representation of the government and opposition.
Last week, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari urged National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai to use the authority and mandate given to him by incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan to ensure opposition participation in parliamentary committees.
Bilawal asked Achakzai to nominate representatives for the electoral reforms panel and submit their names to the National Assembly speaker’s office.
Subsequently, a PPP delegation met Achakzai and Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, inviting opposition parties to join the proposed committee to facilitate consultation and dialogue among parliamentary representatives on electoral reforms.
