Pakistan

PPP Presses Opposition to Join Electoral Reforms Committee and End Committee Boycott

The PPP’s outreach to the opposition entered a second day on Friday, with electoral reforms, the standing-committee boycott and the vacant chief election commissioner post all on the table.

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Politicians seated around a committee table with microphones and files

Highlights

  • A PPP delegation led by Senator Sherry Rehman met opposition leaders for a second consecutive day on Friday
  • The PPP wants opposition parties to join the proposed Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms (PCER)
  • Opposition lawmakers were also urged to end their boycott and rejoin Senate and National Assembly standing committees
  • The opposition will hold internal consultations before responding
  • The delegation also raised talks with PM Shehbaz Sharif on appointing a new chief election commissioner

Two days of outreach

The PPP on Friday continued its efforts to persuade the opposition to join the proposed Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms (PCER), a body intended to help make the country’s electoral process transparent and free from controversy Dawn.

A PPP delegation led by party Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman visited the chamber of Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to formally invite opposition parties to participate in the PCER Dawn. The delegation included Nayyar Bukhari, Nadeem Afzal Chan and Senator Waqar Mehdi, while the opposition was represented by Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Noorul Haq Qadri and Senator Ali Zafar Dawn.

The boycott question

The PPP also urged opposition lawmakers to return to the standing committees of the Senate and National Assembly, which they had quit on the instructions of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan in August 2025 Dawn. The boycott is the opposition’s main leverage — and the main obstacle to any joint committee, which is why the two asks are being made together. It follows a week in which parliament has been dominated by confrontation, including the debates covered in our report on the KP governor’s rule and Noreen Niazi row.

Microphones, files and blank nameplates on a committee table
Parliament House Islamabad with the Margalla Hills behind

The CEC vacancy

A source privy to Friday’s meeting told Dawn that the PPP delegation also urged opposition leaders to engage with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the appointment of a new chief election commissioner (CEC), as the incumbent continues to hold office despite the expiry of his term two years ago Dawn. Under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the incumbent CEC continues to serve until his successor is appointed Dawn.

Speaking to reporters, PTI parliamentary leader in the Senate Barrister Syed Ali Zafar said electoral reforms were essential for strengthening democracy and restoring public confidence in the electoral process Dawn. The opposition told the delegation it would hold internal consultations before responding — so the next move sits with the parties that walked out, and whether they judge a seat at the reforms table worth more than the boycott outside it.