muhammadhafeezmalik
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(This is non-partisan thread: Please; reply without keeping in mind political affiliation of thread starter)
This practice of contesting elections from multiple constituencies was also there earlier in India and Bangladesh, each candidate was allowed to stand from as many constituencies as he wanted, but there came a time when the Election Commissions of respective countries questioned that if a person from one contests elections from more constituencies and wins, then he will have to resign from all the seats except one. That is, why should the people of the entire constituency be put to work for the sake of just one person, why should thousands of people go to duty and why the additional burden on the national exchequer?
In India, Section 33 of the Representation Act was amended in 2004 and it was declared that a man can contest elections from only two constituencies. After the 2016 elections, the Election Commission of India also objected to this and went to the Supreme Court saying that it is not appropriate for one man to participate in the election from two constituencies. The Election Commission wants a candidate to be allowed to contest from only one constituency. EC of India asked the government to amend laws to bar people from contesting from two seats or, at least as a deterrent, a candidate who vacates a seat necessitating a by-poll should be asked to deposit an "appropriate" amount in state coffers or the winning candidate should bear the cost of the by-election to the seat he or she vacates.
Bangladesh in 2008 allowed parliamentary candidates to contest a maximum of three seats simultaneously, instead of five previously. Campaign spending limits, though have been tripled to 1.5 million taka per individual not per constituency.
Professor Dr Khursheed Ahmad of the International Relations Department, University of Peshawar said that it’s quite abnormal to contest by-elections on nine parliamentary seats simultaneously by a political leader in the country.
“Imran’s decision has raised several questions regarding elections laws, ongoing political situation, personalisation of politics, general competence, people trust, heroism and above all, the bipartisan trends,” he told APP.
He said by supposedly winning many seats in by-elections and then quitting would serve no purpose but the wastage of time and resources of Govt, ECP and political workers.
The question is that the Indian Election Commission and to some extent Bangla EC can do all this, so why can't the Pakistani Election Commission?
In 2018 Imran Khan contested from 5, Bilawal and Shehbaz from 3 constituencies while several others contested from two constituencies so we have to conduct bye-election on 11 NA and 24 Provincial assemblies. In latest by-elections Imran Khan himself was a candidate for seven of the eight constituencies of the National Assembly and he has won 6. What will happen now? The funny fact is that he has to vacate all the seats he won because he is already a National Assembly worker and his resignation has not yet been accepted and according to law a man can hold a seat which he already has. Elections will be held again on the vacated seats. Who knows that Imran Khan may become a candidate from all constituencies once again!!
The story of the 8th Constituency is even more funny. Former FM- Shah Mehmood Qureshi's son Zain Qureshi resigned from the National Assembly and became a member of Punjab Assembly. His sister was contesting for the National Assembly election on his vacated seat. The question is: Why did the poor nation bear the expense of the by-elections as a result of this purely family arrangement??
Imran Khan is still a member of the National Assembly (his resignation has not been accepted yet). Can the Election Commission guide us as to how a person, being a member of the National Assembly, can contest the election of the National Assembly and how the election rules and relevant institutions can allow him to do so? Can there be a more serious joke with the election and its system? By-election is not a trivial exercise. A constituency by-election costs crores of rupees. The system of life is suspended, government employees leave their offices and do election duty. In an unavoidable situation, if there is a by-election, there is no problem in the society to go through this exercise, but only as a political strategy or to show its popularity. Where is the strategy to put the public through a futile exercise again and again and waste billions of rupees on this exercise?
Why should such expenses not taken from the concerned candidate or his party instead of the national exchequer?
One last question from current parliament why not a parliament tenure is rationally fixed to correspond to people's changed mood?
This practice of contesting elections from multiple constituencies was also there earlier in India and Bangladesh, each candidate was allowed to stand from as many constituencies as he wanted, but there came a time when the Election Commissions of respective countries questioned that if a person from one contests elections from more constituencies and wins, then he will have to resign from all the seats except one. That is, why should the people of the entire constituency be put to work for the sake of just one person, why should thousands of people go to duty and why the additional burden on the national exchequer?
In India, Section 33 of the Representation Act was amended in 2004 and it was declared that a man can contest elections from only two constituencies. After the 2016 elections, the Election Commission of India also objected to this and went to the Supreme Court saying that it is not appropriate for one man to participate in the election from two constituencies. The Election Commission wants a candidate to be allowed to contest from only one constituency. EC of India asked the government to amend laws to bar people from contesting from two seats or, at least as a deterrent, a candidate who vacates a seat necessitating a by-poll should be asked to deposit an "appropriate" amount in state coffers or the winning candidate should bear the cost of the by-election to the seat he or she vacates.
Bangladesh in 2008 allowed parliamentary candidates to contest a maximum of three seats simultaneously, instead of five previously. Campaign spending limits, though have been tripled to 1.5 million taka per individual not per constituency.
Professor Dr Khursheed Ahmad of the International Relations Department, University of Peshawar said that it’s quite abnormal to contest by-elections on nine parliamentary seats simultaneously by a political leader in the country.
“Imran’s decision has raised several questions regarding elections laws, ongoing political situation, personalisation of politics, general competence, people trust, heroism and above all, the bipartisan trends,” he told APP.
He said by supposedly winning many seats in by-elections and then quitting would serve no purpose but the wastage of time and resources of Govt, ECP and political workers.
The question is that the Indian Election Commission and to some extent Bangla EC can do all this, so why can't the Pakistani Election Commission?
In 2018 Imran Khan contested from 5, Bilawal and Shehbaz from 3 constituencies while several others contested from two constituencies so we have to conduct bye-election on 11 NA and 24 Provincial assemblies. In latest by-elections Imran Khan himself was a candidate for seven of the eight constituencies of the National Assembly and he has won 6. What will happen now? The funny fact is that he has to vacate all the seats he won because he is already a National Assembly worker and his resignation has not yet been accepted and according to law a man can hold a seat which he already has. Elections will be held again on the vacated seats. Who knows that Imran Khan may become a candidate from all constituencies once again!!
The story of the 8th Constituency is even more funny. Former FM- Shah Mehmood Qureshi's son Zain Qureshi resigned from the National Assembly and became a member of Punjab Assembly. His sister was contesting for the National Assembly election on his vacated seat. The question is: Why did the poor nation bear the expense of the by-elections as a result of this purely family arrangement??
Imran Khan is still a member of the National Assembly (his resignation has not been accepted yet). Can the Election Commission guide us as to how a person, being a member of the National Assembly, can contest the election of the National Assembly and how the election rules and relevant institutions can allow him to do so? Can there be a more serious joke with the election and its system? By-election is not a trivial exercise. A constituency by-election costs crores of rupees. The system of life is suspended, government employees leave their offices and do election duty. In an unavoidable situation, if there is a by-election, there is no problem in the society to go through this exercise, but only as a political strategy or to show its popularity. Where is the strategy to put the public through a futile exercise again and again and waste billions of rupees on this exercise?
Why should such expenses not taken from the concerned candidate or his party instead of the national exchequer?
One last question from current parliament why not a parliament tenure is rationally fixed to correspond to people's changed mood?
