Parliament Members' Eligibility: Political parties on same page on amendment in articles 62, 63

KARACHI: Political parties agreed on Thursday on amendments in articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution on terms of eligibility of members of parliament, while the terms of eligibility would be considered later.

Besides, a consensus has been made for bringing the constitutional bill in the electoral reforms committee, while the committee has given approval for electoral reforms under which the Pakistanis living abroad will have no right to exercise their right to vote.

Electronic and biometric machines will not be used in the 2018 elections. Elections on any constituency, if has less than 10 percent women votes, can be declared null and void. The Election Commission will prepare comprehensive election plan six months before the general elections.

The Election Commission will introduce a code of conduct for the pursuit of fair elections. 
The electoral reforms committee approved the Election Act 2017 by combining eight laws. According to reports, the parliamentary committee under Ishaq Dar will constitute the caretaker government, conduct the Senate elections, and supervise the constitutional matters concerning the reserved seats of women and non-Muslims.

On Friday, the proposed election bill will be presented in parliament after signatures of all the members. On the other hand, all the demands of the PTI were ignored. The PTI boycotted this draft over not acceptance of its recommendations, which are the establishment of a new election commission, forming of a caretaker government, use of electronic and biometric machines and the facility for the overseas Pakistanis to vote.