ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Thursday passed 22nd (constitutional) Amendment Bill 2016 unanimously with two-third majority on eligibility criteria for the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The bill was piloted by Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid in the House. As many as 72 members voted in favour of the bill while no one voted against it. According to the law, at present only retired judges of the supreme or high courts are eligible for the appointment as the chief election commissioner or members of the election body, respectively.
Now after the amendment, in addition to the retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Court, retired senior bureaucrats or senior civil servants and technocrats will also be eligible for the appointment as the chief election commissioner or a member.
In case if there is no consensus between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition on the appointment of the chief election commissioner, each shall forward separate lists to the parliamentary committee for consideration which may confirm any one’s name.
A senior civil servant means a civil servant who has served for at least 20 years under federal or a provincial government and has retired in BPS-22 or above. A person having 16 years’ education and 20 years’ experience would be called a technocrat. The law also fixed a maximum age limit of 68 years and 65 years for the appointment as CEC and the ECP members, respectively.
In order to give representation to all provinces, out of four members, one from each province shall be appointed. Another important change relates to continuity of the commission, whereby instead of all four members retiring together, two of the members shall retire every two and a half years. For the first term, the commission will draw a lot as to which two members shall retire after the first two and a half years.
Other amendments provide that delimitation of the constituencies and preparation of electoral rolls for the elections to local governments shall also be the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar said that 10 members from the Senate were part of 34 members Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms.
He said that they also submitted their objections during 18th Constitutional Amendment with patience. The committee presented its report on May 17 on the proposed electoral reforms, he added. He said that the National Assembly again passed those fours bills in which Senate proposed amendments. He said qualification for CEC and members ECP were decided by the committee members unanimously.
Senator Dar said that two members of ECP out of four would retire in rotation like in the Senate. He said that the 22nd amendment was brought with consensus of all political parties. All the decisions were taken with consensus in the committee and no one imposed their will, he added
Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid said that all political parties have their representation in 34-member constitutional reforms committee. “No one submitted dissent note,” he said. The committee held 18 meetings while 57 meetings of the sub-committee were held in this regard.
Leader of Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan objected over the wording of the bill and said PBS 22 should not be used in it. He said that the Senate was not mere a rubber stamp and the draft of 22nd Amendment had certain mistakes. He opposed the maximum age limit for the ECP member that had been proposed 68 years in the bill.
He said that it was also necessary to pass the bill before June 10. However, he stressed to avoid such faulty drafting. Farhatullah Babar said it should not be a principle that the Senate must pass those bills which had been passed by the National Assembly. He said that the government should ensure to rectify wordings of the bill.
Sirajul Haq, Nauman Wazir, Ilyas Bilour, Barrister Saif, Dr Babar Awan and others also expressed their reservations and said that the government should bring the bill earlier, prior to the retirement of the ECP members. The National Assembly has already passed the bill unanimously.
