Rawalpindi: In a groundbreaking development, the “South Asia Partnership Pakistan,” through its initiative “Jazba,” witnessed a press conference in Rawalpindi where representatives of the district forums, including Razia Sultana, Rohila Amjad, Sajida Athar, Basma Tanveer, Sabeen Azhar, Banu Rani, and Daulatana Kouser, expressed their reservations regarding the political parties’ candidate lists for the upcoming 2024 elections at the national and provincial assemblies.
Advocating for increased women’s representation by 33%, they called for immediate constitutional amendments to ensure the local governance system grants complete protection to women. They emphasized the necessity of holding local government elections before each general election.
The representatives further urged political parties to commit to a minimum of 33% representation for women in their organizational structures and central commitments. Additionally, they stressed the importance of ensuring representation for youth, minorities, and non-Muslim Pakistanis in designated seats. In constituencies where a party has a higher likelihood of winning, they suggested securing a minimum of 17% representation for female candidates in general seats.
The group called upon the Election Commission of Pakistan to categorize elections in constituencies with an overall female voter turnout of less than 20% as void. For female, minority, and non-Muslim candidates, they proposed reducing the nomination fee by up to 50%. The representatives also demanded that the Election Commission strictly enforce spending limits for candidates and disqualify those exceeding the prescribed limits.
In conclusion, they appealed to the Election Commission of Pakistan to ensure that every candidate adheres to the allocated campaign expenses and disqualify any candidate surpassing the specified limits. This comprehensive set of demands aims to pave the way for a more inclusive and representative electoral process in the upcoming 2024 elections.