The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is working on a proposal to suggest a constitutional amendment to prohibit a candidate from contesting more than two seats, as this provision results in holding elections repeatedly, which not only burdens the public purse but also causes unnecessary stress to voters.
The ECP realised this when Imran Khan submitted candidacy papers from as many as seven National Assembly constituencies for the October 16 by-elections. Imran will vacate five seats after winning in six constituencies. Because he is already an MNA, his position will be vacated once the official notice of results is made. As a result, by-elections will be held on six seats.
Cost of by election in one National Assembly
According to ECP records, a by-election in one National Assembly constituency cost the government Rs75.8 million. This money used on printing ballot papers, paying poll workers, training poll workers, transporting items, security costs, and other things. Individual spending by competing candidates is separate from this. According to estimates, the leading competitors spent an average of Rs40-50 million on the National Assembly election.in one National Assembly constituency cost the government Rs75.8 million. This money used on printing ballot papers, paying poll workers, training poll workers, transporting items, security costs, and other things. Individual spending by competing candidates is separate from this. According to estimates, the leading competitors spent an average of Rs40-50 million on the National Assembly election.
By-elections
While elections held to provide citizens representation, this turned out to be a zero-sum game. People voted for Imran Khan while knowing full well that he would not sit in the assembly. He claimed it was a referendum, implying that he chose this political exercise at the expense of the public purse. By-elections on six seats would cost the exchequer Rs454.8 million, but candidates will most likely cover their expenses through their financiers.
Nothing in the Constitution, according to article 223 (2), “shall prevent a person from being a candidate for two or more seats at the same time.” Imran Khan has made history by taking use of this privilege. In the 2018 general election, he ran for five seats and won all of them. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had previously run for five seats.
The revision is much required, according to Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency. He acknowledged that there is a rising awareness of this problematic provision, particularly following the by-election.
“There was no realisation because it (the constitutional provision) had not unjustly applied to this level in the past.” It is becoming more noticeable. “I don’t see any objection to this change,” he told.
Analysing of ECP
Now, as work on the plan continues, the ECP is analysing best practises in various countries in order to create a case for why legislation is necessary to set a limit for a candidate in terms of the number of seats. India is one of the countries where a candidate cannot run in more than two constituencies. Surprisingly, there is a growing demand to limit a candidate’s contest to only one constituency or to charge him the expenses required in holding by-elections on the seat vacated by him/her.
Even in India, there was no bar until 1996, when the Representation of People Act 1951 changed. The Election Commission of India has propose four times (in 2004, 2010, 2016, and 2018) that existing laws be amended to prohibit a single candidate from contesting more than one seat. These suggestions made to both the Indian government and the Supreme Court. However, nothing has done in this regard thus far.
Prior to the 1996 revision to Indian election legislation, candidates might run for more than two seats to demonstrate their popularity or to mitigate the risk of losing a seat. Again, no one ran for more than three seats. Former Indian Prime Minister, late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, established this pattern when he ran from three separate constituencies in 1957. Following the modification in 1996, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, and current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi all ran for two seats.
