The Senate on Friday passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, and the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seek to ban electronic voting in elections and restrict overseas Pakistanis from voting, but not without some loud protests from opposition legislators.
Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, moved both bills, which were passed by the National Assembly on Thursday, during the session presided over by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
According to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, the Pakistan Tehreeek-e-Insaf (PTI) government amended the Election Act, 2017, allowing the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and granting overseas Pakistanis the right to vote in general elections.
Tarar told the Senators that the voting rights of overseas Pakistanis had not been revoked. “This right has not been abolished; it still exists,” he added.
He stated that the Election Commission has been asked to ensure the right to vote while keeping secrecy in mind. He added that the ECP should ensure that overseas Pakistanis have the right to vote.
Tarar stated that the National Accountability Bureau must complete all investigations within six months of the bill’s passage. He claimed that the PTI government had extended the tenure of the incumbent NAB chairman by issuing an ordinance and that numerous honest civil servants had been imprisoned without any solid evidence.
During the bill’s passage, members of the opposition staged loud protests. They surrounded the Senate chairman’s dais and ripped apart agenda copies. They chanted anti-government slogans, calling the government an imported one that was not acceptable.
The Senate approved the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which amends certain sections of the previous Elections Act, 2017.
The bill to amend the Elections Act, 2017, presented by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Javed Murtaza Abbasi, was unanimously passed by the Senate.
Sections 94 and 103 of the Elections Act of 2017 were amended by Act No. LV of 2021 to allow for the use of I-voting and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the next General Election.
The reason given was that “the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) faces technical difficulties in conducting elections as per amended provisions ibid.”
“Because Article 218(3) of the Constitution requires the ECP to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections, the current bill proposes restoring the amendments to Act No. LV of 2021 to their original contents in order to conduct more pilot projects before using I-Voting and EVMs in general elections.”
Act XXXIII of 2017 was passed by the House with the addition of new section 72B. After section 72A, a new section 72B, titled ’72B.Effects of section 72A’ will be added to the act.
According to an amendment to section 94 of Act XXXIII of 2017, “the Commission may conduct pilot projects for voting by Overseas Pakistanis in bye-elections to ascertain the technical efficacy, secrecy, security, and financial feasibility of such voting and shall share the results with the government, which shall, within fifteen days after the receipt of the report, lay the same before both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).”
According to the amendment in section 103 of Act XXXIII of 2017, namely Electronic voting and biometric verification, “The Commission may conduct pilot projects for the utilization of electronic voting machines and biometric verification, casting and counting of votes to assess the technical efficacy, secrecy, security, and financial feasibility of the electronic voting machines and biometric verification system and shall share the results with the Government, which shall, within fifteen days, share the results with the Commission.”
The meeting was later adjourned to meet again on Monday.
