NLA sets up committee to review law on political parties
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday set up a joint committee to review the organic law on political parties after concerns were raised by the Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) that some provisions might be unconstitutional.
The joint committee comprising 11 members from the NLA, the CDC, and the Election Commission (EC), would convene for the first time next Tuesday. They have 15 days to amend the embattled law to be in line with the Constitution.
The NLA had passed the law last month, but according to the Constitution, relevant agencies can petition against it if they find any clauses to be unconstitutional.
The CDC, responsible for drafting the original bill, had raised five points in the bill that could violate the Constitution.
The CDC said enactment of the bill must take into consideration another organic law concerning reforms required by the new charter. This was so that it could meet the spirit of the charter to make political parties more accountable and participatory.
However, the primary voting system introduced in the bill, which required parties to conduct internal poll in determining constituency candidates, could leave a loophole for committing fraud. The CDC said that it might be against the Constitution, which intends to eliminate all forms of corruption.
It also said that listing of party leaders as first party-list MPs would limit their chance to contest constituencies, thus removing their political rights and violating the charter.
Also, it said that insisting parties have no fewer than 50 members in areas without branches or representatives before primary voting could be held was equivalent to eliminating the chances of parties without so many members. This would affect the charter’s principle of making all voices meaningful in elections.
The CDC said that the organic law might promote inequality between major and small political parties since not all of them could afford to set up branches and hold primary elections. This would potentially violate the charter by being partial to a group.
The organic law on political parties is one of the four priority legislations necessary for organising an election expected to take place next year after years of military ruling.
After the NLA passed the bill last month, it met with strong criticism regarding its practicality, given the new voting system and the limited time.