Senate body rejects Elections Act (Amendment) Ord by majority vote

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs on Friday rejected the Elections Act (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 by a majority vote as the Election Commission of Pakistan said that out of 98 violations, 61 were committed by the ruling party in recent days, following the ordinance promulgation.

To this effect, a meeting of the committee was held here at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Taj Haider. The forum was given a briefing on the ordinance to amend the Elections Act 2011. The ECP secretary informed the committee that on February 19, the president had issued the ordinance. The ECP expressed reservations over the ordinance and urged the federal government to reconsider the ordinance. After consultations, the members of National Assembly and Senate were allowed to participate in the election process, but the code of conduct was tightened. However, the president, the prime minister, the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate, the speaker and the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, federal ministers, ministers of state, governors, chief ministers, provincial ministers, aides to the prime minister, mayors/chairmen and Nazims have been barred from campaigning, he said.

Senator Farooq H Naek, a member of the committee, said it is important to assess the impact of this ordinance on the democratic system of the country. To ensure implementation of the code of conduct is a responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan and asked for rejection of the ordinance. He contended that it is not right to issue the ordinance in the darkness of night. “Despite clear instructions of the ECP, federal ministers are violating the election code of conduct. The issuance of the ordinance involved dishonesty of the government. The standing committee should reject the ordinance morally and politically,” he argued.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said the implementation of the ordinance is the responsibility of all. The ordinance has not been rejected by the parliament or the court.

Senator Syed Ali Zafar said all institutions should work in accordance with the Constitution. The president has the power to issue ordinances in accordance with the Constitution and it is the duty of all institutions to implement them. The ECP, he noted, has issued notices and fines to the prime minister and some parliamentarians, which are against the spirit of the Constitution. To which the ECP secretary said notices have been issued to all political parties for violating the electoral code of conduct. He said the job of the parliament is to make laws and the job of the administration is to implement them and the job of the court is to interpret the law.

Senator Kamran Murtaza said the government has issued the ordinance to achieve its objectives. “It is the ECP responsibility to hold free and fair elections in the country,” he said. Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar said transparent elections are the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan and this ordinance has interfered in the working of the ECP and is a clear violation of the Constitution and “we should reject it, as the powers of any constitutional body cannot be curtailed by an ordinance”.

Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the ECP has the power to make the election code of conduct and the parliament does not have the power to usurp the powers of the commission. The ECP secretary said that according to the Constitution, the powers of the commission cannot be reduced. According to the Constitution, the responsibility of transparent elections lies with the ECP. In recent days, the ordinance has led to 98 violations of the electoral code of conduct, of which 61 have been committed by the ruling party.

The standing committee rejected the ordinance by a majority vote. However, Senator Syed Ali Zafar and Senator Sania Nishtar opined that unless the ordinance is rejected by the parliament, it is part of the law and its implementation should be in accordance with the law.