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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
OF THE
TASNEEM NOORANI
REVIEW COMMISSION
P.O. Box 1594, Islamabad, Pakistan. Tel: +92 51 227 0744 Fax: +92 51 287 3893 1
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
INTRODUCTION
Chairman Imran Khan, after having led the party through sixteen years of a lean
period, took the bold decision of having intra party elections in 2012, in order to
base the party on democratic principles and take a quick leap forward, into
converting a political party into an institution. Like a lot of first experiments, the
way the intra party elections were organized, and its timing, could have been
better. To understand all its dynamics there was a need to study the process
carefully, identify the shortcomings and suggest a way forward.
Secondly, there was also a need evaluate and understand the way the general
elections were contested by PTI. There were many complaints regarding ticket
distribution, the organization of the national campaign and the ancillary matters
related to it. These needed to be studied to ensure better results in the future.
To achieve these objectives, the Chairman PTI decided to set up a Review
Commission comprising of three members. They were:
1. Mr. Tasneem Noorani, Chairman.
2. Mr. Ahmad Owais Member.
3. Mr. Yaqoob Izhar Member.
After examining a large number of witnesses and detailed deliberation, the
Review Commission finalized its report. The following summarises its content
and recommendations.
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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
INTRA PARTY ELECTIONS
For the first time in the history of political evolution in Pakistan, a political party
(PTI) held free party elections to elect the partys office bearers starting from the
grass roots, in the form of counselors at the U.C. level. By free it is meant that
the party leadership neither had any favorites, nor made any efforts knowingly to
help any particular person or group. It genuinely wanted the ordinary members
to elect their organizers.
Based on the number of people interviewed, the intra party election exercise as
a whole showed mixed results. The down side was:-
a. The faux pas of the voter lists and the arbitrary manner in which election
issues and complaints were handled by the Election Commission, (who
were pressed for time) left a poor impression of the partys organizational
state and ability with the party workers.
b. The expected utility of having a proper screening process of the
prospective candidates by the District. /Reg. / Provincial body through
unbiased selection, and better local knowledge of the candidates, did not
play out as envisaged.
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c. The low participation at the U.C level by the genuine party members/voter
(inadequate voter list) and the maneuvering done by aspirants of District
and Provincial posts created issues with the elected bodies.
d. The rivalries, groupings and personal animosity generated by the
electoral process, did not end with elections. Due to the very short time
between the IPE and General Elections, it very seriously affected the
unity and enthusiasm of PTI, in the party ranks, during the general
election.
The plus side of the IPE was:-
a. Never in the history of the sub continent has a political party conducted
genuine intra party elections. This was a first and has had a huge impact
on the political culture of Pakistan.
b. Party has made a breakthrough in organizing itself and has provided a
lead to the other parties in institutionalizing the political parties.
Recommendations
1) IPE should never be planned near the General Elections. IPE should be
at least one year before the General Election.
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2) The party constitution should be suitably amended to take care of the
following issues:
a. The eligibility criteria of becoming a party member. Having a large
number of uninterested members is not necessarily a good option.
Only a voting member should be eligible to context election.
b. Only residents of the U.C should be eligible for contesting in that
U.C.
c. The issue of having to cast dozens of votes in the U.C elections,
should be sorted out, to bring it to manageable level, perhaps
through acknowledging the reality of panels i.e. panels should be
allowed for U.C level elections.
3. Rs. 500/-fees for U.C level election should be withdrawn
4. Voter list should be reconstructed within a reasonable time frame and be
available on the web, to be challenged and corrected, as an on going
process. Confidentiality of member details has not paid off. PTI members
should be known and be proud of their association with the party. Fence
sitter will in any case join and leave according to their advantage.
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5. Electronic voting, though attractive on paper, did not deliver effectively. A
third party evaluation of the last experience should be done and a critical
evaluation of the shortcomings be undertaken. Since PTI is a share
holder in the cell voting hardware, its evaluation is necessary to use the
asset effectively in the future. Passing all the blame on the election staff
and EC, will be brushing the matter under the carpet. After third party
evaluation, its performance be tested in a Pilot Project before using it
again in the next IPE.
6. For the reason that it was the first experience of the kind by any political
party and for reasons highlighted in the foregoing paragraphs, the IPE
was not perceived to be a perfect exercise. There is in some circles
continuing resentment and disenchantment with the elected bodies.
Setting the tenures run to the full may not be recommended. Party should
deliberate re election at an appropriate time,in the not too distant a
future.
7. An innovative system should be introduced to improve on the current
system of winner take all to reduce the intense grouping that is sure to
develop after every IPE. One idea would be to have a Panel System and
giving the loosing panel share in the U.C office bearers proportionate to
their votes.
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8. International experience needs to be evaluated. Human nature being
similar, more developed democracies must have developed different
systems to take care of the problem of intense groupings after party
elections.
9. Party Office bearers should not be allowed to contest the General
Elections. Members should decide whether they want to be part of party
bureaucracy or be part of the government. This will throw up the
enthusiastic and nazariati cadre of the party to run the party.
TICKET DISTRIBUTION PROCESS
The confusion, pressure for time and a fluid changing process of arriving at
decisions resulted in a number of issues, most of which adversely effected the
partys performance in the general election. Some of these are:
3. In a predominant number of constituency, not even the strongest of
candidates was sure of getting the ticket until the last moment,
compromising his position and reputation in the constituency.
4. The uncertainty, apart from belittling them, sapped the enthusiasm/energy
of those candidates, who eventually got the ticket.
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5. False allotment of tickets, which were withdrawn, in the middle of the
campaign and in some cases re-allotted, spread widespread confusion
and belittled the partys management capabilities.
6. In a number of cases, candidates were given their word by person in
position about ticket allotment; They spent money on printing posters etc
and started campaigning, only to be told that their ticket had been
withdrawn. A number of such people left the party and continued their
campaign as independent candidates. This divided the party supporters
and badly affected partys performance.
7. Due to a haphazard method, each candidate, whether for MPA or MNA,
fought his own battle; with the result the final decision had no relevance
to having MPA candidates compatible to the MNA of the constituency.
Resultantly the synergy so essential in the campaign of the MNA
candidates who is in harmony with the MPA under him was lacking. In
most cases rather than supporting each other, they even opposed each
other, resulting in the loss of both.
8. Senior office bearers of other parties, who had a clean reputation and
were welcomed into PTI, and who had staked their political reputation to
join a party more in line with their moral values, were not given the
respect they felt they deserved.
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9. The performance of CPB was brought into question, when the list of
invited members became unwieldy with a host of unconcerned
participants..
10.The decision to allot 25 % seats to youth was generally considered
counterproductive, as most youth candidates lacked experience,
resources, or knowledge of their constituency. In most cases they did not
even make this up, with running an aggressive campaign, expected from
youth.
Recommendations:
3. Last time hardly three weeks were allowed for the party to decide party
tickets for 272 NA and 577 PA seats. To decide, input was taken from (a)
an in house committee lead by Mr. Asheer Zohair (b) input of Provincial
Presidents/Provincial Parliamentary Board (c) input of members of the
CPB and (d) input received by Chairman directly. Synthesizing the many
inputs takes time and because of shortage of time, CPB took incorrect
decisions. .
4. This mistake should not be repeated. The question now is how soon
should the party decide the tickets. Party often like to hold their cards
near their chest, till the end, to have the option for the best. This has not
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worked for PTI. The hunt for good candidates should start Now, based on
(a) performance in 2008 )b) enthusiasm for party (e) elect ability.
5. To strengthen the party at the district level there is no alternative to the
Chairman himself visiting districts, as frequently as possible, but not less
than once in six months. In these meetings, as different from jalsas,
Chairman should meet 50/100 people in an enclosed space and listen to
the problems of the local leaders and works. There is no requirement for
the Chairman to make any formal speech; listing is more important for
party strengthening. The local squabbles will inevitably be aired in such
gatherings; they have to be heard and coordinated as best as possible,
by second tier national leadership, who should assist the Chairman in
these meetings.
6. A confidential hunt for potential candidates in each constituency should
be undertaken through various means as soon as possible, one of them
could be hiring a specialized private company. Contact with the identified
candidates should be maintained by party leadership (who ever is
assigned the task) to both monitor and groom the potential candidates. A
strategy district wise should also be devised to attract good candidates
from other parties who fit the PTI profile.
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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
7. The process of party tickets allotment should start at least six months
before the elections and tickets should be finalized not later than three
months before election date.
8. National Assembly candidates should be selected first and their input
taken for selecting the Provincial Assembly candidates under him.
9. Policy for tickets for youth should be reviewed. No minimum limit of tickets
to any category be announced. Merit in each case should be determining
factor for each constituency, while best effort should be made to
encourage young people.
10.A PTI lead person be appointed, at least one for each civil division, to
handle the political fall out of ticket awarding and damage control, to
minimize the number of opponents, specially those who turn hostile at not
being given the ticket. This should be done near the elections, before the
start of ticket distribution process.
11.Elected President of District should be co-opted in the CPB for selection
of candidates of his district .
MALADMINISTRATION/CORRUPTION AND ITS IMPACT ON ELECTIONS
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Even-though the RC was set up to look into the candidates evaluation
procedure for award of tickets and look into causes that adversely affected the
performance of the party, apart from enquiring into allegations of corruption and
misconduct, most people who contacted us or appeared before the Review
Commission had only corruption on their minds. They thought that was the
biggest factor which harmed the party
Since no substantive evidence of financial corruption was produced, the Review
Commission did not deem it necessary to call the persons complained against to
answer charges. While it can be said that where there is smoke there is bound
to be fire, it can also be said the people in our country, are prone to
exaggerating, especially against those who have hurt them. In some case the
hurt is particularly nasty; especially where it happens after intense friendship,
hurting the other party then becomes a matter of honor.
While the leadership of the party is within its right to form any opinion on the
matter, the Review Commission does not feel competent to pass judgment on
anyone without credible evidence.
Recommendations:
1. A Standing Committee on Disciplinary Matters should be set up to
consider cases of corruption, discipline etc. The SG should be the
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authorized person to send such cases, which he feels require
adjudication, to the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee should
record evidence, in the presence of the accused, who should have right to
cross examine, before sending their verdict to the SG, who should then
decide the punishment. Depending on the work load, there can be more
than one Standing Committee.
2. The case of President Faisalabad be put up before the Standing
Committee on Disciplinary Matters for deliberation.
3. Although there was a lot of commotion in the party on corruption after the
IPE, almost no one brought forward any concrete evidence. This is also
because most corrupt persons are careful not to leave any trail. It is
,therefore, recommended that the general reputation of the members
should be given due importance in future decision making.
4. Action should also be take against persons who are found making false
allegations.
Other factors affecting party performance:
There are a number of other factors, which are responsible for less
than expected performance. Some of these are external and other
internal. They are:
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EXERNAL
1. There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that PMLN in
Punjab used the state machinery to rig the election wherever it
could. This is borne out by the fact that it has stoutly resisted
any attempt to do biometric recounting in Punjab
constituencies.
2. N manipulated Biradari and cast politics in Punjab much better
than PTI. It was particularly successful in roping in local
influential who used there clout to influence the elections.
INTERNAL
1. Because of inordinate delay in finalizing tickets a number of good
candidates left and joined other parties or preferred to contest as
independents to obviate the insult of being refused the tickets on the
last moment.
2. Some good candidates played one party against the other in giving
them the ticket and left PTI in a lurch leaving PTI with very few
options.
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3. All candidates had to wait before being awarded the ticket, right at the
last moment, leaving the minimum time to canvas for their candidature.
4. The youth were also given a high % of tickets, were not known in their
constituencies and also did not have their resources to spend on
publicity or area to mobilize the volunteers.
5. Selection of ticket holders was made on individual bases and very
rarely as a team, in which MNA and MPA candidates were not on the
same wavelength. This deprived the party of the synergy that
candidates of other parties normally pay attention to.
Recommendations:
1. An exercise for pre-qualification of candidates for party ticket should be
done to assess whether their past record is in line with the qualification
acceptable in the Constitution of Pakistan e.g. Article 62-63.The other
information like education, work history etc should only be for information of the
CPB .It should not be quantified or given grading.
2. Advisory Group compromising experienced politicians of the party be set
up formaly, either Region wise or for more than one Region, to make their
recommendations, based on the winning potential of candidates in each
constituency. This Advisory Group would be in addition to the recommendations
of the elected party hierarchy.
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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
3. An assessment of financial resources of the candidate should be made to
see his resourcefulness, specially where party will be unable to make a
significant contribution to the candidates campaign fund.
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National Campaign
Tabdeeli Razakar Program
The performance of the Tabdeeli Razakr (TR) was criticized by most
complainants who appeared before is. Their main complaint was that TRs were
nowhere to be seen on the election day. It was a project with a lot of hype but
performance on the ground was poor.
A total of 175000 TR`s were registered. They were all volunteers, who were also
involved in their own jobs/businesses ,so could not be expected to give full time
to PTI. The only physical thing they got out of the party were the printed letters
of IK to be delivered to the voters. A proposal to provide them party caps, to give
them a sense of belonging was not accepted due to financial constraints.
To us it appears that a good idea was poorly executed, due to an unrealistically
unworkable time frame of seven weeks, to recruit, train and provide a huge force
of volunteers, at not only the village level but also the polling station level. It was
to say the least an over optimistic exercise, which had raised peoples
expectation due to hype created through the media.
Recommendations : 1. The TR scheme should be reviewed and re-launched after studying the
shortcomings of the past.
2. T.R should be the partys foot soldiers positioned to help the partys
candidates during the general elections. For this, special effort and
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planning should go in to ensure coordination between the candidates and
the TR, lacking last time
3. Funds should be allocated to provide party symbols to the TR like caps
etc and also per-diem for the election day. Amount should be enough to
add to their existing motivation and subject them to discipline, receive
training and ensure continued presence until counting is finished, on the
election day. These funds could be provided by the candidate, but the
party should ensure that they are actually disbursed .
4. Party top leadership including U.C, President, Provincial Presidents
should be allocated geographical areas, to ensure that they campaign
effectively to support party candidates, in area allocated to them.
Campaign Office should coordinate the political activity between the
leaders and candidates.
5. Party should devise a system to ensure that each candidates has done
adequate work on his own, to recruit, train and motivate Polling Agents
and this facet is not being neglected.
6. TRs numbers and capability needs to be specially assessed to ensure
no confusion occurs between what the TRs are able to do and what the
candidates will do.
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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Women Seats
The issue of women seat allocation has generated a lot of heat and bad blood
amongst prominent female members of the party. It was an issue regarding
which a number deponents, mainly concerning Punjab, appeared before the RC
and pleaded their case passionately
It appears to us that there are a few factors which fuelled the issue of women
reserve seats of Punjab.
(a) No one in the party took the issues of women seats seriously, as there were far more pressing issues, likely ticket distribution for regular seats, national campaign, etc. in the month of March 2013.
(b) The Central Parliamentary Board, which had given itself the task of deciding candidates for 849 NA & PA seats in the country, did not itself find time and priority to decide the precedence order of women reserve seats
(c) Neither women candidates nor the party leadership knew the rules and regulations about these seats.
(d) Women who were down in the pecking order in the lists submitted, did not react violently before the election , as most of them were expecting more seats than the party ultimately got and their disappointment set in when they realized they had missed the opportunity because they were lower in the list.
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Other factors affecting party performance: