CEC proposes amendments in Election Act 2017

Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja has proposed amendments in Sections 57-1 and 58 of the Election Act 2017, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The CEC requested for approval of the amendments from the Parliament.

In letters to National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja claims that the Supreme Court’s ruling on March 1 has generated controversy.

The Election Commission, which is described in the letter as an independent, autonomous organization, is in charge of holding free and transparent elections.

It has been stated in the letter that the Supreme Court has held that holding elections within 90 days is a fundamental necessity, not a specific article, and that Article 218(3) of the Constitution should be viewed as a whole.

The Election Act may need to be amended in order to address the issue of election date announcement, according to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

Regarding changes to the Election Act, the CEC has sent letters to Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

The CEC suggested changes to Sections 57-1 and 58 of the Election Act in the letter, and recommended that Parliament should approve the changes.

Sikandar Sultan Raja has proposed an amendment in 57-1 that the Election Commission will announce the date or dates of the general elections. Under the amendment, the Election Commission will ask for representatives to be elected from the constituencies. 

The amendment also suggests that the Election Commission will be able to change the election programme after the election notification.

According to the letter, there was a dispute about how the elections for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa legislatures were conducted. The court had determined, based on its reading of Article 224/2, that elections within 90 days were legally required.

Reporter Usman Khan