ISLAMABAD: Despite the Election Commission of Pakistan`s (ECP) warning that a delay in finalising electoral reforms would impact the elections scheduled for next year, the parliamentary committee responsible to see this through continues to be embroiled in contentious issues it has been gripped with since day one.

The members of the sub-committee on electoral reforms and its convener Law Minister Zahid Hamid have openly admitted that differences on several key issues, including major constitutional amendments, persist.

Talking to reporters after presiding over an in-camera meeting of the subcommittee of the palimentary committee for electoral reform for the second consecutive day here on Tuesday, the law minister expressed hope that his committee would meet for the last time on Wednesday (today). He said they would refer unresolved matters back to the main committee headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

The key issues still being debated include the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Biometric Verification Machines (BVMs), the right of vote to overseas Pakistanis, appointment of the election staff, particularly returning officers (ROs), and the procedure for the appointment of a neutral caretaker government to conduct the elections.

On Tuesday, the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) submitted written proposals for the electoral reforms, which included a suggestion that returning ofEcers could be taken from the army.

The PTI proposed, in documents availa-ble with Dawn, that the `ROs appointed should be of good repute and should not be less than Grade 19`, adding that `ROs can be taken from all services, including the defence forces`. Talking to Dawn, the PTI`s Arif Alvi said the party had been forced to submit its written proposals again to reiterate its stance on key reforms which the party believed necessary to ensure free, fair and transparentelections.

Rejecting the existing mechanism for the installation of a caretaker government, the PTI has suggested that the interim government be appointed through a parliamentary committee. Presently, the parliamentary committee comes into action only if the prime minister and the opposition leader fail to agree on the nomination for a caretaker prime minister.

`The first consultation between the leader of the house and the opposition regarding the appointment of caretaker governments at the federal and the provincial level should be done away with.

Instead, a committee of the house in which all political parties are represented (50pc members from the government and its allies and 50pc from the opposition proportionately divided as per their parliamentary strength) should discuss and decide the issue,` the PTI proposed.

Syed Naveed Qamar of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) criticised the PTI for introducing new proposals, especially the one proposing that the ROs be appointed from within the army. `The proposal is ridiculous. It never happened even during military rule,` Mr Qamar said.

Mr Qamar said he did not believe the law minister`s claim that the committee could complete its task by Wednesday, and added that even the sub-committee was not in a position to refer anything to the main committee. He confirmed that contentious issues, which needed to be resolved, persisted and that they have done so since the committee`s first meetings.

Responding to a question, Mr Qamar said they all wanted the ECP to use EVMs and BVMs in the next elections, but it seemed unlikely that would happen.