| শিরোনাম | সূত্র | তারিখ |
| ফ্রান্সাইজ কমিশন রিপোর্ট | সরকারী | ১৮ ফেব্রুয়ারী, ১৯৬২ |
[Excerpt from the report of the Franchise Commission]
9. The terms of reference involve mainly three things namely: (i) nature of franchise, (ii) method of election of the President and Assembly members, and (iii) maintenance of parity of voters between the two wings of the country in the case of election of the President. Two kinds of franchise- universal adult franchise and restricted adult franchise- are referred to in the terms of reference. Under the former, every citizen of Pakistan who has attained the age of maturity (21 is the age of maturity under Article 157 of the Constitution) is entitled to vote at an election, if he is not otherwise disqualified from becoming a voter. Under the latter, every such adult citizen who is possessed of certain qualifications based on property, education and the like, if not otherwise disqualified, would be entitled to vote at an election. Method of election, as envisaged in the term" of reference, is also of two kinds- direct and indirect. In the direct method, a candidate at an election is elected directly by the votes of eligible voters. In the indirect method, however, a primary election is held first whereas secondary voters are elected by the votes of eligible voters. The secondary voters elected at the primary election from an electoral college, and they alone are to elect candidates at another election to be held for the purpose. This indirect method is what is provided in the Constitution for the election of the President and members of the National and Provincial Assemblies. The Constitution further provides that the number of members of the Electoral College in each Province shall be the same. The terms of reference require that, in the case of election of the President, parity in the number of electors shall have to be maintained in any case. The points that arise for determination, therefore, are.
(i) Whether there should be universal adult franchise or restricted adult franchise for election of the President and members of the National and provincial Assemblies. In the latter case, what should be the qualifications of electors?
(ii) Whether the President and members of the three Assemblies should be elected direct by the electors or indirectly through an electoral college. In the latter case, what should be the composition of the Electoral College?
(iii) How can parity of voters between the two wings of the country be maintained in the case of election of the President, whatever be the method of his election?
10. Universal or restricted adult franchise; -Let us deal with the question of franchise first, the same being the common basis of all elections with which we are concerned here. Article 157 of the Constitution provides that every citizen who has attained the age of 21, and is not of unsound mind, shall be entitled to vote at election to
