Electoral tweaks don’t deprive expats of voting rights: IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday observed that in hindsight, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s decision to give voting rights to overseas Pakistanis earlier this year was not in line with a judgement of the Supreme Court.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah made these remarks while hearing a case against the recent amendments in the election act by the PML-N-led government that, as per the petition, “deprived the overseas Pakistanis” of the right to vote. The petition had urged the court to reverse the amendment.

During the hearing, Justice Minallah said overseas Pakistanis had not been deprived of their voting rights. He added the modalities regarding voting rights for the expatriates needed to be formulated. “Will 9 million expatriates vote in a single constituency,” he asked.

The changes made by the PTI and the current amendment both pertain to the rights of the overseas Pakistanis, he said, adding that the current amendment was more descriptive. He added, “In hindsight, it could be observed that the amendment brought during the former government’s tenure violated the SC order.”

Justice Minallah said the procedures regarding voting for the expatriates need to be formulated by parliament, not the courts.

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The IHC CJ then adjourned the case till June 3 as he sought more arguments for the maintainability of the petition.

Last month, parliament approved the Election (Amendments) Bill 2022 that aimed to "deprive" overseas Pakistanis of their voting rights. Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarrar said the bill did not snatch voting rights from overseas Pakistanis. The legislation aimed to conduct pilot projects in local by-elections before using i-voting and EVMs in the next general elections.

In November last year, the PTI had bulldozed legislation pertaining to the grant of voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and introduction of the electronic voting machines in the general elections. The opposition had opposed these changes at the time. Since coming to power, the PML-N-led unity government has reversed both changes.

The petition

In the petition filed in the IHC, the petitioners said that the main grievance was the amendment in Section 94 in the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2022.

"Notwithstanding the fact that the law mandated the ECP to take some decisive acts to enable overseas Pakistanis to exercise their right to vote, no action in this regard had been taken by the respondent," it said.

It also noted that the former PTI government had made an amendment in sub-section (1) of Section 94 of the Elections Act, 2017. It added that the present regime, which was "vociferously opposing the fundamental right of vote of overseas Pakistanis at all levels", also moved an amendment in Section 94.

"That new amendment has reversed not only the enactment made to enforce the fundamental rights of the petitioners but has also set aside/reversed the judgement of the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan," the petition said.

Under Section 94 of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP is legally bound to devise a mechanism to enforce the fundamental right of vote of overseas Pakistanis, which had been virtually taken away under the guise of the said amendment act, it added.

The petition went on to say that the previous government ensured the enforcement of the fundamental right to vote for overseas Pakistanis through legislative enactment but the same had been taken away by the present regime "with ulterior motives".

It said that the government's "mala fide intent" could be gauged from how the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2022 was passed "within a day without any debate or discussion in parliament".