ISLAMABAD, Jul 26 (APP): The Joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday passed much-awaited amendments in the Election (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which aimed to improve the election law and ensure smooth and transparent elections.
The National Assembly passed the Election (Amendment) Bill, 2021 on June 10, 2021 but it could not sail in Senate.
A parliamentary committee under the chairmanship of Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was constituted to ensure consensus on the various amendments. This committee included parliamentarians from all political parties which had several parleys and finally agreed on amendments in the bill.
The bill was tabled in the joint session of the parliament which approved the amended bill.
It approved amendments in section 230 of the Election (Amendment) Bill,2021 which is related to the functions of the caretaker government.
It approved a proviso after sub-section (1) and sub-section (2) of the Section 230 which states” Provided that sub-sections (1) and (2) shall not apply where the caretaker government has to take actions or decisions regarding existing bilateral or multilateral agreements or the projects already initiated under the Public Private Partnership Authority Act, 2017 (VIII of 2017), the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act, 2022 (XXX of 2022) and the Privatization Commission Ordinance, 2000 (LII of 2000)”.
The Election (Amendment) Bill 2023, after being presented to and debated in the Majlis e Shoora (Parliament), has successfully secured approval with the intention of fine-tuning and making the existing Electoral laws more effective and transparent.
These amendments were carefully discussed and proposed by members of the Majlis e Shoora to address various concerns and shortcomings in the current electoral system.
The goal behind these changes is to ensure a fair, transparent, and efficient electoral process that upholds democratic principles and fosters public trust.
During the presentation of the Bill, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar highlighted that all parliamentary parties have reached a unanimous consensus, leading to substantial enhancements in Section 230 of the Election Act 2017, thereby increasing its effectiveness.
Under an amendment, the Returning Officer will be bound to send the election results by 2 am on the day following an election. However, the deadline for submitting the result will be 10am the next day. The security
personnel will perform their duties outside polling stations but will be allowed to enter a polling station with the permission of a PO in case of an eventuality.
Tarar said that the caretaker government was not being bestowed with additional powers and its primary responsibility was to oversee the implementation of already approved projects and agreements from the previous government and cabinet.
The main objective is to ensure smooth progress of existing multilateral and bilateral projects that have received the green light from the political government, without facing any obstacles.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi clarified that there was a misconception about the bill granting caretakers greater powers.
Under the amendment bill, presiding officer (PO) will take pictures of the election results and send them immediately through electronic means to the returning officer (RO) concerned and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
In case of non-availability of the internet, the PO will deliver the result physically to the RO and the ECP.
Election candidates will be allowed to use their pre-existing bank accounts for financing their election campaigns.
Candidate can give seven day statement of account. Candidate has also given choice to open new bank account for maintaining election related expenditures.
The delimitation of constituencies will be carried out based on the population ratio rather than the number of voters in each constituency. Assembly Seats will be allocated according to the population size. The demarcation of constituencies will be confined within the boundaries of a district.
However, the amendment empowers the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to include certain nearby areas from neighboring districts into a constituency from a district.
Under another amendment, election petitions will now be required to be resolved within a six-month timeframe.
Consequently, the stay of a candidate will be vacated after the six-month period.
This measure has been taken in response to instances where candidates, who had lost the elections, obtained stay orders and remained in the assembly for up to four years. With the new amendment, the goal is to ensure that election petitions are swiftly disposed of within the stipulated six-month period.
Under another amendment, holding an honorary position or being a member of a government-controlled entity does not disqualify someone from running for Parliament, Provincial Assembly, or local government under certain articles of the law. Similarly, receiving remuneration for business-related activities as a member, even on an honorary basis, does not lead to disqualification as a candidate.