Poll law tweaks sail through ‘stormy’ Senate

PTI, JUI-F oppose Election Act Amendments Bill, stage token walkout

ISLAMABAD:

The upper house of parliament passed the Election Act 2017 Amendment Bill with a majority vote amid fierce opposition from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) on Thursday.

The bill, which has already been approved by the National Assembly, requires the president’s assent to become a law. Through the bill retired judges could be appointed to election tribunals, which would hear challenges to the election results.

The opposition raised vociferous slogans against the bill when it was put to vote in the house, terming it a ‘black law’. At one point, Senate Chair Yousuf Raza Gilani warned the opposition lawmakers to maintain decorum or else he would take strict action.

As soon as Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar tabled the Election Act 2017 Amendment Bill in the house, opposition senators started a noisy protest. Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz said the government wanted to manage election tribunals.

“Independently functioning tribunals do not suit the government,” he said, questioning the rationale for the government’s move to remove serving judges from the tribunals and replace them with retired judges.

Tarar responded that this law was the same as the law passed unanimously in 2017 and then the PTI had voted for it. “The [new] amendments are made to speed up the tribunal [proceedings],”

the minister claimed.

Senator Ali Zafar said that “we will stand with” serving judges, adding that the bill “reeks of mala fide intentions” and is meant to “keep unelected people in power.” He added that the bill was against the spirit of the Constitution and independence of the judiciary.

The senator charged that the real culprit here was the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), while the Senate was being used. He accused the government of giving the powers to form the tribunal to the ECP. “The Election Commission will [now] decide which retired judge is to be brought in the tribunal.”

Farooq Naek said that the high courts did not have the power to form a tribunal, rather this authority belonged to the ECP. He charged that the PTI did not want the swift decisions by the tribunals, rather it wanted that anarchy and chaos in the country.

The opposition lawmakers suggested that bill should be referred to the relevant committee instead of pushing it though the upper house of parliament. They charged that the government was enacting laws on its own will, which would not be acceptable to the opposition. Later they staged token walkout.

Tarar said reminded the PTI of the passage of 53 bills in the joint session in less than an hour, when the party was in the government before 2022. He challenged the logic that whatever, the opposition did was right but “everything that we do is wrong”.

Condolence resolution

Earlier, the house unanimously passed a resolution, offering condolences on the death of former senator Hidayatullah in a bomb blast in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday. The resolution, moved by Kamran Murtaza demanded of the government to take active measures against terrorism.

Senator HidayatUllah belonged to the Bajur district. He served as an independent senator for two consecutive terms from March 2012 till March 2024. During his tenure, Senator Hidayat Ullah always raised his voice for the rights of the under privileged people of the former tribal areas.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)