An interactive discussion was held with Dr Nasreen Hussain Pervez, former provincial election commissioner for Balochistan, on the topic of ‘Election Reforms and Role of Election Commission & Parliament’ on March 4, 2022.
Dr Pervez, who was the first woman to be appointed provincial election commissioner, presented an overview of how common people perceive general elections, revealing that their lack of confidence in the system results in a disbelief that their vote will not make any difference, which consequently results in a decrease in voter turnout.
The discussion also covered at length some prevailing problems within the country’s political and electoral systems, the general societal mindset, the idea of voter awareness programs, as well as the need for having a strong accountability mechanism.
The speaker, in addition, also put forth some suggestions for reforms, including the revision of relevant constitution sections as per the accordance of time and the aspirations of people, as well as refined census procedures having better coverage of rural and urban areas of the country, leading to proportionate representation of electoral candidates in every area.
