The Election Act, 2017 is a law enacted to amend, and consolidate the laws relating to the conduct of elections in Pakistan. The Act has been the subject of numerous amendments and legal challenges since its enactment, including issues related to allocation of reserved seats, intra-party elections, disqualification conditions for legislators. Despite opposition and controversy, the Act remains the cornerstone of Pakistan's electoral framework, shaping the country's democratic processes and institutions.

Overview

The Act includes provisions related to the Election Commission of Pakistan, delimitation of constituencies, voter list and conduct of assembly elections. It also outlines the powers and responsibilities of the Election Commission, the procedure for delimitation of constituencies and the preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls.

Amendments and legal challenges

Lahore High Court petition

A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court challenging the amendment made in Section 57 of the Election Commission Act, 2017. The amendment empowered the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the date of the elections.

Voting rights of overseas Pakistanis

The

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

approved the amendments in the Elections Act 2017. The amendments rolled back the changes made by the

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

government for electronic voting and voting rights of overseas Pakistanis in the next general elections.

Dilemma of reserved seats

Concerns have been expressed over the allocation of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims. These seats are distributed in proportion to the number of ordinary seats won in direct competition for the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies.

Intra-Party polls

The

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

issued a detailed decision to deprive

of its electoral symbol 'cricket bat' for not holding intra-party elections to Election Commission's satisfaction.

Amendment to limit ‘Lifetime’ disqualification

A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court against the amendments made in the Elections Act, 2017, seeking a 5-year limit on 'disqualification' from contesting public offices.

PPP’s Letter to CEC

The Pakistan People's Party has written to the Chief Election Commissioner expressing concern over the reshuffle of senior police officers in Sindh, which they claimed violated Section 230 (f) of the Election Act, 2017.

Opposition to amendment to section 230

The amendment to Section 230 of the Election Act 2017 was opposed by the ruling coalition and the opposition.

Empowering the caretaker government

The Joint Session of Parliament approved amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, empowering the

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

to take actions or decisions related to ongoing bilateral or multilateral agreements and projects.

References

{{reflist 2017 in Pakistani law Acts of the Parliament of Pakistan 2017 in politics Election legislation