I want to become Prime Minister

www.pakvoter.org

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Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2

Build an Educational Background ............................................................................................................ 3

Volunteer Work ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Learn about the Legislative Procedures: ................................................................................................ 5

Socialize/Networking ................................................................................................................................. 6

Membership of Political Party ................................................................................................................... 7

Membership fee and contributions .......................................................................................................... 7

Intra-party Elections for the General Elections ...................................................................................... 7

Fund Raising for Future Campaigns ....................................................................................................... 8

Member of National Assembly ................................................................................................................. 8

Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) ..................................................... 9

General Elections ..................................................................................................................................... 10

Free and Fair Elections ........................................................................................................................... 11

Becoming a Prime Minister ..................................................................................................................... 12

Oath Taking Ceremony ........................................................................................................................... 13

Caretaker Prime Minister ........................................................................................................................ 13

Powers and functions of the Prime Minister ......................................................................................... 14

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I want to become Prime Minister

Introduction

The aim of this resource book is to provide simple and comprehensive steps/guidance

to the children about how to become a Prime Minister. To start political career one has

to follow certain rules. A person has to join a political party of his/her choice that lies

close to the ideology one wants to pursue.

Dear Kids!

Today we are going to have a fun

exercise where I will tell you the

simple steps, following which you can

become a Prime Minster.

Come on! Raise your hands who want

to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan?

Oh, Wow! We have so many young

future Prime Ministers of the state.

Kids! In order to become a Prime

Minister you have to pursue your

career in politics and related studies.

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Build an Educational Background

You must build an

educational career or

related fields from the

beginning; this will

develop your standing

as a politician. Common

areas of study include

law, political science,

business, finance, law

enforcement, journalism

and education.

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Volunteer Work

You must spend some time getting to know your local political party and political

leaders. Go to the meetings of the political parties. Volunteer to assist with the election

campaigns and other related events. This will enhance your knowledge about the

political career.

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Learn about the Legislative Procedures:

Kids! If your

educational

background does not

teach you about the

legislative rules and

processes than

nothing to worry

about this. You can

still master these

processes by doing

research and study

the government

structure and

processes in your

free time. You must

enhance your current

knowledge skills by

reading the

newspapers and keep

yourself equipped

with the historical

information a well.

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Socialize/Networking

Kids! One of the important things in pursuing the political career is to get you socialized.

Always introduce yourself by your name and start conversation with anyone who is

willing to speak to you. Possible networking opportunities include volunteer work,

community events, political rallies, civic clubs, school organizations and sporting events.

You can also make use of the social networking like facebook, Twitter along with the in-

person networking.

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Membership of Political Party

Every citizen of Pakistan shall have the right to form or be a member of a political party,

be otherwise associated with a political party, or take part in political activities or elected

as an office-bearer of a political party.

Kids! Your name will be entered in the record of the political party and you have to

remember that you cannot join more than one political party at the same time. The party

will issue you a membership card.

Every political party shall, submit to the Election Commission, within sixty days from the

close of each financial year, a consolidated statement of accounts of the party audited

by a Chartered Accountant containing;

(a) Annual income and expenses;

(b) Sources of its funds; and

(c) Assets and liabilities

Membership fee and contributions

Being the member of the political party, you are required to pay membership fee as

provided in the party’s constitution and may in addition, make voluntary contributions

towards the party’s funds. The contribution made by members or supporters of any

party shall be duly recorded by the political parties.

Intra-party Elections for the General Elections

You must remember that every political party, desirous of taking part in general

elections, shall complete its intra-party elections before the commencement of General

Elections and submit within seven days of intra-party elections, a report to the Election

Commission that the party held the intra-party elections in accordance with constitution

of such party and the Order.

After contesting the internal elections of the party, you will become a leader. In order to

become the member of the National Assembly you must have a constituency/area from

where you will contest the elections.

Constituency, according to Oxford English Dictionary, is a body of constituents, the body

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of voters who elect a member of a legislative or other public body. It is also known as

‘electoral district’ and is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding election for one seat

in a legislative body.

Delimitation of Constituencies is re-organization of electoral constituencies. Delimitation

of constituencies is done after a specific timeframe to adjust the increase or decrease in

population of a constituency. According to the Delimitation of Constituencies Act, 1974,

the constituencies for elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies are to be

delimited after every census. The ECP is responsible to delimit the constituencies after

the census. There are 272 seats in the National Assembly and every MNA contests

elections from his given constituency.

Fund Raising for Future Campaigns

In order to become politically strong you must invest your own money and raise funds to

run the political campaigns to make people familiar with your goals and ideology. These

campaigns will help gather people in your support.

Member of National Assembly

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In order to become the member of the Parliament, one has to fulfill following terms and

conditions.

1) One must be a citizen of Pakistan;

2) In case of National assembly, you must be of the age of twenty five and a

registered voter in any electoral roll;

3) One must possess good character and is not the one who violates the Islamic

rules;

4) You should have adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practices

obligatory duties as prescribed by Islam;

5) One should be righteous and honest;

6) One must not work against the integrity of the country or against the ideology of

Pakistan.

Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)

You must remember that a person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as,

and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), if;

(a) He is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court; or

(b) He is an undischarged insolvent; or

(c) He ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign

State; or

(d) He holds an office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than an office declared

by law not to disqualify its holder; or

(e) He is in the service of any statutory body or anybody which is owned or

controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share

or interest; or

(f) He is propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the

Ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan.

(g) He has been removed or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan.

(h) He is found guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice under any law for the time being

in force.

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Kids! Once you became the member of a political party by following the above

rules and procedures, you will have to contest the elections.

General Elections

You must go through the following process of Elections for becoming the Member of the

National Assembly. General Elections are held once in five years in Pakistan. The party

that wins the General Elections serves the country for the rest of 5 years. Kids you have

to remember following steps for contesting General elections.

Step 1- The party has to submit its papers with the Election Commission for contesting

the general Elections;

Step 2- Pakistan has a multi-party system, where more than one party contests in the

General Elections;

Step 3- You can also contest the Elections as an independent candidate but if you win

than you have to join the party that has gained majority;

Step 4- The party is assigned with the Election symbol for contesting the elections like,

cycle, lion, bat, ball, arrow, etc;

Step 5- All the members of the party submit their nomination papers for their respective

constituencies/area;

Step 6- The party than runs an Election campaign before the final poll to gain people’s

trust and votes;

Step 7- Finally, on the day of General Elections people cast their vote for the party and

member of their own choice;

Step 8- Than the process of counting the votes from all over Pakistan, take place;

Step 9- The party who gained highest majority in the votes wins the elections;

Step 10- The President of the state calls the party to form its Government;

Step 11- The runner up party gets the chance to form the opposition.

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In order to elect a competent and credible Prime Minister the Election Commission must

hold free and fair elections.

Free and Fair Elections

Free and fair elections means that the voters should be able to express their

preferences without pressure and that the process of running the election and counting

the vote is done honestly and openly. ‘Free and Fair Elections’ have some

characteristics, which include:

regular and periodic elections;

through universal/adult suffrage (one person, one vote);

[elections] conducted by an independent and impartial organization;

there must be competing political parties;

there must be free speech and impartial media;

there must be freedom from false, misleading or undue influence on voters;

elections are held through secret ballot;

results of the elections come quickly;

Majority rule and minority representation.

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Becoming a Prime Minister

The party that has won the

highest majority gets a chance to

form its Government and all the

party members unanimously

decide one candidate for

contesting the Elections for the

Prime Minister of Pakistan. Both

ruling party and the opposition

party nominate one member for

the post of Prime Minister. Prime

Minister must be elected by the

total votes of the majority of the

total membership of the national

Assembly. If no member secures

the majority votes in the first poll

than the two candidates with

highest votes will contest the

elections repeatedly until one of

them secures the highest votes.

The member who has won the

majority forms a Cabinet with

other Ministers.

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Oath Taking Ceremony

The candidate of the party that has won majority of the votes in the Parliament shall be

called upon by the President to assume the office of the Prime Minister and he should

take oath before the President before entering into the office.

Caretaker Prime Minister

After one prime Minister completes his tenure, a caretaker PM is chosen for the time

until the new Prime Minister is elected. According to Article 224 of the Constitution of

Pakistan, the caretaker Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President in

consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in National

Assembly.

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Article 224-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, says that if the Prime Minister and the

Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly do not agree on any person

to be appointed as the care-taker Prime Minister, within three days of the dissolution of

the National Assembly, then they shall forward two nominees each to a Committee to

be immediately constituted by the Speaker of the National Assembly, comprising eight

members of the outgoing National Assembly, or the Senate, or both, having equal

representation from the Treasury and the Opposition, to be nominated by the Prime

Minister and the Leader of the Opposition respectively.

These Committees are required to finalize the name of the caretaker Prime Minister

within three days of the referral of the matter to it. However, if the committees fail to

decide about the Prime Minister, the names of the nominees shall be referred to the

Election Commission of Pakistan for final decision within two days.

Powers and functions of the Prime Minister

The powers and functions of the Prime Minister are mentioned hereunder;

The P.M is the chief advisor of the President. The president performs his duties

with the consultation of the P.M.

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The Prime Minister after taking oath selects his cabinet. Every Minister,

individually and cabinet as whole are responsible for their acts to the parliament.

The P.M is a national leader. He leads the nation and organizes the public

opinion in favor of his party.

The PM is the leader of the cabinet and he chairs the meetings of the cabinet. All

the ministers work under the supervision of the PM.

The PM is the leader of the National Assembly. His proposals are honored in the

house. He expresses his views in the Assembly.

The PM has power to confer titles and awards to those who show excellent

performance in different field of life.

The PM has power to appoint the high-ranking officials with the approval of the

president of Islamic republic of Pakistan. He appoints diplomas, ministerial staff

and judges of the Supreme Courts and the High Courts. He also appoints the

members of National Finance Commission etc.

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The PM also performs finance matters. The budget is prepared under his

supervision.

The PM works for the public welfare. He takes every possible step to improve the

life style of the people of his country.

The foreign policy is prepared under his guidelines. The diplomats are appointed

by the president on the recommendations of the PM.

The PM takes part in legislation. All proceedings are conducted with the consent

of the PM. He plays a vital role in law making.

The PM performs the administrative function. He is responsible for the smooth

running of the affairs of the country. He maintains law and order in the country.

The PM is responsible for the defense of the country. He can take step to

improve the defense system of the country.

The PM can ask the president to dissolve the national assembly.

The PM is the party head. He belongs to party who has majority in the house. He

has his political significance.

The PM if not satisfied with the function of his ministers could terminate them.

The PM is a link between president and cabinet. The PM is duty bound to inform

the president about work of cabinet.

The PM is representative of the nation in international level.