Acting President Sadiq Sanjarani signs Elections Act (Amendment) Bill 2023

Acting President Sadiq Sanjarani signed the Elections Act (Amendment) Bill 2023 on Monday!

With Acting President Sadiq Sanjrani’s signature,  the Elections Act (Amendment) Bill 2023 has become law, legislation that reduces the disqualification period for any lawmaker to five years and empowers the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to set the date for polls without consulting the president.

A day earlier, the National Assembly passed the Election Act Law limiting the disqualification of a parliamentarian to a maximum of five years, paving the way for those barred for life from running for a public office.

The legislation also amends Section 232 of the Elections Act, which is related to the disqualification of a parliamentarian.

According to the law, the period of punishment for the crime, which is not fixed in the Constitution, the disqualification of a convict will not exceed five years.

The three-time former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Jahangir Tareen are said to be the immediate beneficiaries of the new law.

A day earlier, the National Assembly approved the Election Amendment Bill 2023 restraining the period of disqualification of a parliament to a maximum of five years and removing the bar from running for a public office again.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar tabled amendments bill and the House unanimously approved Section 57 of the Election Act 2017.

Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf presented the bill for voting which was passed with a majority.