The Joint sitting of Parliament on Wednesday passed much-awaited amendments to the Election Act 2017 which aimed to improve the election law and ensure smooth and transparent elections.
The bill was tabled in the joint session of the parliament which approved the amended bill. 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 Elections (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.
Under the amendments, the interim setup will not have the authority to sign any new agreement and make decisions on bilateral and multilateral agreements. The caretaker government will be able to exercise powers on matters related to the ongoing projects, according to the amendments.
Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar told the joint session that the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms again held a meeting today and examined, specifically, Section 230 of the Election Act vis-à-vis the caretaker government.
He said the objective of empowering caretaker setup is to ensure that the ongoing commitments with multilateral and bilateral do not face hiatus as it negatively affects the economy.
The bill empowers the caretaker government to take actions or decisions regarding existing bilateral or multilateral agreements or the projects already initiated under the Public Private Partnership Authority Act, 2017, the inter-governmental commercial transactions Act 2022 and the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000. The maw minister said that no new powers are being given to the caretaker government saying amendments in section 230 are aimed to ensure that the decisions already taken by the federal cabinet do not face any hurdles.
The bill also envisages measures aimed at ensuring the timely compilation and announcement of election results. The joint session of parliament has been adjourned to meet again on the 7th of the next month at 11:30am. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) successfully persuaded its allies in the Centre to approve a bill granting additional powers to the caretaker setup a day after the amendment bill was deferred in the parliament for further deliberations.
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