On Monday, Acting President and Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani gave his approval to the Elections Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which reduced the duration of a parliamentarian’s inefficacy to five years, ending the country’s practice of lifelong disqualification.
After easily passing through the Senate earlier, the bill was approved by the National Assembly.
The measure was introduced as a supplementary agenda item in the National Assembly by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and it was unanimously passed.
Leaders Who Will Be Benefited From Inefficacy Bill
Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Jahangir Tareen, the head of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), would immediately benefit from the new law after the acting president signs it.
Months before the 2018 general elections, the Supreme Court permanently barred Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former prime minister, and Tareen, the PTI’s then secretary general, from holding any public office.
The Election Act of 2017’s Section 232 (Qualifications and Disqualifications) was revised by the new law to set the inefficacy period at five years. It said that the five-year maximum inefficacy period under Article 62 of the Constitution would apply.
“inefficacy of the lawmaker will be considered for five years where the tenure of the punishment is not specified in the Constitution,” it said. “The inefficacy … will be considered for five years on the orders of the Supreme Court or high courts.”
The amended act also gave the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) the authority to determine the election date without seeking the president’s approval and to alter the election calendar if necessary.
The Elections Act’s Section 57(1) was amended to state that the ECP would notify the official gazette of the date or dates of the general elections and would thereafter ask the constituencies to choose their representatives.
According to the amendment to Section 58 (1), the ECP could change the election schedule at any moment after the notification was issued or could publish a new election schedule with the new polling date(s).
To read our blog on “Imran Khan appeals in IHC against the ECP decision of disqualification,” click here.
