Question# 01 of your assignment

The National Assembly moved a bill seeking amendments in the Election Act 2017, and it sailed through
the senate and got its assent after the signing of the acting president on 26th of June 2023. Three main
amendments are given as per Elections (amendment) act 2023, the title that can be read on the short
title (Section 1) of the said act.

The pre amended and amended versions are given under

Amendment of section 57 and 58, Act XXXIII of 2O17;

The pre amended version of Section 57 of the said act is;

57. Notification of Election Programme.—(1) The President shall announce the date or dates of the
general elections after consultation with the Commission.

As per this pre-amended version the announcement of the date was solely the prerogative of the
president Pakistan. As per this right the elections that are general in Pakistan or provincials were to be
announced by the president without the consent or advice from the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The president announced Sunday, April 9, 2023 as the date for holding of the general elections of the
provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) under Section 57 (1) of the Elections Act,
2017. Before amendment he has right of announcing the date of Punjab and KP Assemblies election as
the ECP has refused to do so. The move was however criticized by the acting government of Pakistan
and Election Commission of Pakistan equally and thus after the great consultation on the matter
whether the president has any right or not and how to tackle the problem the amendment was
proposed that is as under;

57 (1) Subject to the Constitution the Commission shall by notification in the official gazette
announce the date or dates, as the case may be, of the general elections."

The pre amended version of Section 58 is;

58. Alteration in Election Programme.— (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 57, the
Commission may, at any time after the issue of the notification under sub-section (1) of that
section, make such alterations in the Election Programme announced in that notification for the
different stages of the election or may issue a fresh Election Programme as may, in its opinion to
be recorded in writing, be necessary for the purposes of this Act: Provided that the Commission
shall inform the President about any alteration in the Election Programme made under this sub-
section.

But the amended version says that;

 "58 (1) Subject to the Constitution, Notwithstanding anything contained in section 57, the
Commission may, at any time after the issuance of the notification under sub-section (1) of that
section, make such alterations in the election programme announced in that notification for different
stages of the election or may issue a fresh election programme with fresh poll date or dates as may,
in its opinion to be recorded in writing, be necessary for the purposes of this Act.".

In the amended version the clause of information of the alteration in the election programme is not
notified to the president.

ECP powers increased:

The amendment act also empowered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to set the election date
without consulting the president and make modifications in the election schedule as it deemed
necessary. The amendment to the Section 57(1) of the Elections Act said that the ECP would announce
the date or dates for the general elections by a notification in the official gazette and would call upon
the constituencies to elect their representatives.

The amendment to Section 58 (1) said that after the issuance of notification, the ECP could make
alterations in the elections programme at any time or may issue a fresh election programme with the
fresh poll date(s).

Substitution of section 232 Act XXXIII of 2017

The pre- substituted version of the said section of said act says that;

232. Disqualification on account of offences.— Where a person has been convicted for any
offence under this Act or has been found guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice by a Tribunal, he shall, if
the Commission is of the view that circumstances so warrant and makes an order to that effect, be
disqualified for such period not exceeding five years as may be specified in the order from being, or being
elected as a Member of an Assembly, the Senate or a local government.

But a substantial change has been brought about in the substitution of the said section;

"232. Qualifications and disqualifications.- (1) .The qualifications and disqualifications of a

person to be elected, chosen or to remain as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or a
Provincial Assembly shall be such as provided for in Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution: Provided that
the procedure, manner and duration of the qualifications and disqualifications under this section shall be
such as specifically provided for in the relevant provisions of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution and
where no such procedure , manner or duration has been provided for therein, the provisions of this Act
shall apply. 2 (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provisions of this Act, any other law
for the time being in force and judgment, order or decree of any court, including the Supreme Court and
a High Court, the disqualification of a person to be elected, chosen or to remain as a member of the
MaJlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or a Provincial Assembly under paragraph (f) of clause (1) of Article 62 of
the Constitution shall be for a period not exceeding five years from the declaration by the court of law in
that regard and such declaration shall be subject to the due process of law.".
Benefit of the changes in section 232 to some entities:
The new law amended the Section 232 (Qualifications and Disqualifications) of the Election Act, 2017 to
set the period of disqualification to five years. It said that disqualification period under Article 62 of the
Constitution would not exceed five years.

“Disqualification of the lawmaker will be considered for five years where the tenure of the punishment
is not specified in the Constitution,” it said. “The disqualification … will be considered for five years on
the orders of the Supreme Court or high courts.”

After the acting president’s signature, the immediate beneficiaries of the new law will be the Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader
Jahangir Tareen.

Nawaz, the three-time former prime minister, and Tareen, the then secretary general of the Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were disqualified for life from holding any public office by the Supreme Court
months before the 2018 general elections.