ECP expresses concern over law tweak

Ordinance allows lawmakers to visit or address public meetings in any constituency during election campaign

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has expressed serious reservation over the promulgation of new ordinance which allows lawmakers to visit or address public meetings in any area or constituency during the election campaign.

The federal government has promulgated ordinance namely Elections Amendment Ordinance 2022, inserting new section 181A, which reads “notwithstanding anything to the contrary under this Act, rule or code of conduct or any other law, a member of parliament, provincial assembly or elected member of local government including member holding any other office under constitution or any other law shall subject to sections 170 clause (a) sub section (v), 175 (h), sub section (1) of section 180, 181 and 182 may visit or address public meetings in any area or constituency during election campaign”.

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On Monday, a delegation led by ECP Secretary Umar Hameed Khan met Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan at his office and reportedly conveyed the ECP’s concerns regarding the new law.

The delegation maintained that the new law was violative of Article 218 (3) of the constitution, which says that “it shall be the duty of the ECP to organise and conduct the election and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against”.

Likewise, the commission also believed that ordinance was contrary to section 233 of Election Act 2017 as well as Article 222 of the constitution.

Section 233 says that the ECP will amend the code of conduct by consulting political parties. Similarly, Article 222 of constitution states that the parliament could not make any law which could take away or abridge any of the ECP powers.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that the ECP would not accept the amendment which may cause tension between the commission and the government. However, the reaction of opposition parties will be significant in this regard.

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A senior official in the ECP said that the commission would have no choice but to accept the ordinance if the opposition endorsed it.

On the other hand, sources maintained that the AGP during the meeting defended the ordinance saying that addressing meetings by lawmakers would not be a hurdle in conducting fair and free elections. He also noted that the ECP may frame rules in order to regulate the movement of legislators during the election campaign.

A senior official in ECP said that the commission’s members would be briefed about the AGP’s opinion on Tuesday (today).

Meanwhile, a member of the cabinet admitted that the main purpose of the new law was to “open the way for Prime Minister Imran Khan” to address meetings during the upcoming local government elections across the country, especially in Punjab.

Earlier, the premier had received two notices from the ECP over violation of poll code of conduct in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.