How many declarations were deleted?
There were some 19 declarations which a candidate for the National Assembly
or Provincial Assemblies or the Senate was required to make in the nomination
form. These declarations have been deleted from the form under the new law (Elections
Act, 2017). 
Some examples of declarations
deleted?
The previous nomination form included a declaration on outstanding loans
from any bank or financial institution, etc. in the name of a candidate,
his/her spouse or any dependent but the declaration has been omitted in the
new form.
So are the declarations on default
in payment of government dues or utility charges,companies
owned and foreign travel undertaken during the past
three years. Declarations about some basic information such aseducational
qualifications and the occupation of the candidate
have also been deleted from the nomination form.
The previous nomination form
required candidates to declare under oath a list of criminal cases
against them; this declaration is no longer required. Candidates were also required
to submit the details of the income tax and agriculture income tax
they paid during the past three years. No such declaration is required in the
new nomination form.
They were supposed to submit
declarations of the amount of money received from or paid to a political
party which awarded the ticket to the candidate. These declarations
have been omitted in the new nomination forms.
The previous nomination form
also included a declaration about the Pakistani citizenship
of the candidate and that he/she has neither acquired nor applied for the citizenship
of a foreign state. This declaration is also missing in the new form.
Were Nomination Forms responsibility of the ECP?
The nomination forms were previously covered by the Election Rules which were
framed and amended by the ECP. But under the new law, the nomination forms have
been included in the Elections Act 2017 so only Parliament can amend these forms.
Why declarations are important?
It needs to be emphasised that all the declarations by the candidates which
were a part of the old nomination form and which have now been omitted are important
for a voter to enable him or her to decide who to vote for.
We have large constituencies
of an average 357,000 voters in each National Assembly constituency and it is
impossible for voters to personally know the candidates. Declarations in the
nomination forms are the best way to get authenticated information about the
candidates.
Transparency regarding those
seeking public office is one of the basic requirements for democratic system
to work satisfactorily. Any effort to curtail the level of transparency will
compromise the basic principles of democracy. Unfortunately, deletion of these
important declarations has done just that — compromised the fundamental
principle of democracy by curtailing the transparency about the candidates running
for public office.
No Political Party submitted
a note of dissent!
It is somewhat surprising that such significant curtailment of transparency
was allowed by Parliament even while almost all political parties were represented
in the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms and its subcommittee through
their ablest legislators.
Five notes of reiteration or
dissent were submitted by the members of the PCER on behalf of their respective
political parties at the time of submission of the final report to Parliament
but none of these notes relates to the declarations deleted from the nomination
form.
Media and Civil Society
woke up to it rather late – after LHC judgment
It is even more surprising that national media and civil society were not able
to detect such a serious reversal of the candidates’ transparency in time.
There have been only a few vague and fleeting references to the deletion of
the declarations in the media but no serious questions have been raised about
this reversal.