System of Voting for Christians

System of Voting for Christians.

In 1983, Zia removed the minorities from the open adult franchise through an apartheid-like “separate electorate,” as part of his program. Minorities could neither stand nor vote for regular National Assembly seats. Instead, they were allocated 10 seats elected by various religious communities, from nation-wide constituencies: 4 seats each for Hindus and Christians; 1 for Ahmadis; and 1 for others (Parsis, Sikhs, and Buddhists, etc.). They represented no geographical constituencies; the whole nation was their constituency and they could not determine the policies and other demands of their respective locations. These separate electorates were at first welcomed by the Christian leadership; ostensibly they provided the minorities certain rights of self-determination, however, limited such rights were. Later, however, the detrimental aspects of these separate electorates became fully obvious. This system was protested by Christians and others because, symbolically, it lowered their status from a position of full citizenship. It also had serious practical ramifications, in that minority groups tend to live in separate areas (e.g. urban slums and rural Christian villages). Since they were not able to vote for the member of parliament assigned to their geographical location, there was no incentive for their parliamentary representatives to spend the limited development funds in these communities, with the result that minority communities suffered from a lack of services. Gen. Musharraf ended this segregation and in the 2002 elections minorities voted for regular seats like the rest of the population. This change was made in part as a response to two decades of agitation by the minorities on this issue Additionally, minority seats were retained, divided as above, and filled through a proportional representation system. Non-Muslim candidates are chosen from closed lists filed by the respective political parties so the representatives are dependent and beholden to their party leadership without having much independence. Because of this, and to extend their influence, some of the leaders are demanding the reinstatement of the separate electorate.

How do minorities get MNAs and MPAs for themselves? Minorities within Pakistan cannot elect a representative for themselves from the minority, nor can they vote for them so that their voice can reach the upper echelons. After Musharraf’s rule, the minority was deprived of the right to choose a representative of their religion from their constituency. But minorities can cast their votes for the majority.

Until 1999, non-Muslims had dual-voting rights in general elections that allowed them to not only vote for Muslim candidates in general seats, but also for their own non-Muslim candidates. At present, dual-voting rights are only given to Muslims from Pakistan-Kashmir.

Members of Parliament.

The Parliament of Pakistan ( Majlis-e-Shura Pakistan. ) literally “Pakistan advisory council” or “Pakistan consultative assembly”) is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature that consists of the Senate as the upper house and the National Assembly as the lower house. According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President of Pakistan is also a component of the Parliament. The National Assembly is elected for a five-year term based on adult franchise and one-man-one-vote. The tenure of a Member of the National Assembly is for the duration of the house, or sooner, in case the Member dies or resigns. The tenure of the National Assembly also comes to an end if dissolved on the advice of the Prime Minister or by the president in his discretion under the Constitution.

The total number of seats in Parliament is 442. 342 seats of the National Assembly. 104 seats of the senate.

SEATS OF SENATE

There are four seats in the Senate for minorities.

Kamran Michael ( Current Christian Senator )

Tenure: March 2018 to March 2024
Province: Punjab
Party: Independent IND
Seat Description: Non-Muslim

John Kenneth William ( Current Christian Senator )

Tenure: March 2015 to March 2021
Province: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Party: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PTI
Seat Description: Non-Muslim

SEATS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

There are ten seats in the National Assembly for minorities.

Shunila Ruth ( Current Christian Member of National Assembly )

Name Ms. Shunila Ruth
Father/Husband’s Name Clarence Rufin
Permanent Address House No.596-B, Pak Arab Housing Society, Lahore
Local Address H-06, Parliament Lodges, Islamabad
Party PTI
Oath Taking Date 13-08-2018

 Jamshed Thomas ( Current Christian Member of National Assembly )

 

Name Mr. Jamshed Thomas
Father’s Name Thomas John
Permanent Address Outside Kohati Gate, P.O. Yakatoot, Hattingabad Colony, Peshawar City
Local Address Suite No. 41, Govt. Hostel, Islamabad
Contact Number 0333-9047711
Email [email protected]
Party PTI
Oath Taking Date 13-08-2018

Aasiya Nasir ( Former Christian Member of National Assembly )

Aasiya was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan on a reserved seat for minorities as a candidate of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in the 2002 Pakistani general election.

She was re-elected to the National Assembly on a seat reserved for women from Baluchistan as a candidate of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in the 2008 Pakistani general election

She was re-elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of  Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) on a seat reserved for the minority in the 2013 Pakistani general election

In June 2014, Aasiya raised the issue of why non-Muslims cannot be elected as Prime Minister or President of the country. She also opposed the ban on the consumption of alcohol by the non-Muslim community in Pakistan.

Tariq Christopher Qaiser ( Previous Christian Member of National Assembly )

He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) on a seat reserved for minorities in the 2013 Pakistani general election.

SEATS OF PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLIES

There are 23 seats in the Provincial Assemblies for minorities.

Current Christian Members of Provincial Assembly of Punjab

Haroon Imran Gill (NM-364)

Took Oath On 15th August 2018.

Assembly Tenure : 2018-till date ( 17th Assembly )

 

Ijaz Masih (NM-365)

Took Oath On 15th August 2018

Assembly Tenure : 2018-till date ( 17th Assembly )

 

Peter Gill (NM-367)

Took Oath On 15th August 2018

Assembly Tenure : 2018-till date ( 17th Assembly )

 

Munir Masih Khokhar (NM-370)

Took Oath On 15th August 2018

Assembly Tenure : 2018-till date ( 17th Assembly )

Current Christian Members of Provincial Assembly of Sindh

Anthony Naveed (RSM-163)

Took Oath On 18th March 2019

Current Christian Members of Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Wilson Wazir (MR-4)

Took Oath On 27th August 2019

Current Christian Members of Provincial Assembly of Baluchistan.

Titus Johnson

Took Oath On 13th August 2018

BIBLIOGRAPHY