ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has formally expressed its reservations over the Elections Act (Amendment) Bill 2020.
The electoral body has informed the federal government that 13 sections of the National Assembly-approved Election Amendment Bill are in conflict with the Constitution. The ECP contacted the federal government via the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs about its reservations through a letter.
The ECP has asked the ministry that Prime Minister Imran Khan be informed about the body’s objections to the bill. In the letter, ECP said that the demarcation of constituencies based on voters rather than the population is not in line with the Constitution.
“The rights regarding the voters list are under the purview of the ECP and 13 provisions of the proposed Election Act are unconstitutional,” said the ECP secretary in the letter.
It also said that using the open ballot method instead of secret voting for the Senate polls conflicts with the opinion given by the Supreme Court. The letter also stated that adding the word ‘open ballot’ was a violation of Article 226 of the Constitution.
“The Supreme Court has given a clear opinion in this regard in a case related to the presidential reference. If the bill is implemented, the powers of the Election Commission may be limited,” the letter added.
Elections (Second Amendment) Bill
The House passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill which pertains to fair, free and transparent election through utilisation of technology and modern gadgets.
The bill is also aimed at granting voting rights to the Overseas Pakistanis which may only be possible by vesting exclusive authority in ECP with technical assistance of NADRA and other agencies.
Amendments were sought in section 94 and 103 of the Election Act, 2017 to achieve the aforesaid objectives. This bill was also piloted by Awan in the House.
