A number of election reform and NAB law change measures have passed the Senate

It was only a day after the National Assembly approved the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 and the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2021.

Today, the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament approved proposals that aimed to reverse the PTI government’s decision to allow electronic voting machines (EVMs) and internet voting for Pakistanis living outside the country, as well as to limit the National Accountability Bureau’s wide-ranging powers (NAB).

This morning, they were introduced in the Senate by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.

The measures were introduced at a time when the nation was considering holding early elections, and only one day after PTI leader Imran Khan unexpectedly concluded his protracted march by setting the government a six-day ultimatum to declare an election date.

Only the president’s signature completes their passage into law once they have been approved by both chambers.

In the face of opposition cries of “no, no,” Abbasi delivered the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 to Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, who inquired whether the bill should be referred to the appropriate committee.

It was Tarar who answered, saying that it had already passed the committee. He made it clear that Pakistanis living abroad were not denied the opportunity to vote in the country’s elections.

To protect voting rights and confidentiality, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been urged, he said in parliament.

“Our elections will not be able to be held using electronic voting machines, according to the ECP. Pakistani expatriates should be able to cast their ballots in the country’s elections.”

Senate opposition leader Dr. Shahzad Waseem said that the opposition will not allow anybody to “rob” abroad Pakistanis of their right to vote or compromise on the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Azam Swati, the former minister of railroads, and Shibli Faraz, a former science minister, were on the Senate panel that approved the measure, Tarar observed.

When asked about the government’s “mala fide intentions,” Faraz said, “I don’t know what they’re attempting to do here.”

A “piece of paper with no value,” he claimed, was the Election Commission’s complaint about the measure at the committee meeting in which it was discussed.

Members of the opposition began shouting slogans again after Faraz’s answer.

Senate leadership then asked whether it should be brought to committee, but most senators said “no” to that request.

After that, the Senate enacted the Elections Amendment Bill 2022.

Opponents screamed chants like “imported government” and “no to NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance)” during the Senate session.

Second Amendment to the National Accountability Act of 2021 was also enacted during the session.

The meeting was postponed until Monday at 4 p.m.

Voting regulations

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) may conduct pilot projects to test the feasibility of overseas Pakistanis voting in by-elections and share the results with the government, which shall lay the results before both houses of parliament within 15 days of the beginning of a session of a house after the receipt of the report.

It is now possible for ECP to undertake by-election pilot projects using electronic voting machines and biometric verification systems, according to a change to Section 103 of the Election Act.

The NAB code of conduct

The provision added by the previous administration providing him an extension till the selection of his successor has been deleted from the bill requesting an amendment to the NAB Ordinance 1999, which means that current NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal would be unable to stay in office.

Acting Chairman of the NAB will be nominated by the federal government when the current chairman’s term ends and would be chosen from among the NAB’s deputy chairpersons.

A three-year term has been added to the NAB chairman’s and prosecutor general’s previous four-year terms.

NAB will no longer be allowed to act on federal, provincial, or municipal tax concerns when the measure is signed into law. Additionally, the country’s regulatory agencies have been taken out of NAB’s purview.

Law also excludes “decisions of federal or provincial cabinet, their committees and subcommittees, Council of Common Interests (CCI), National Economic Council, NFC, Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, Ecnec, Central Development Working Party, State Bank of Pakistan, and such other bodies except where the holder of public office has received a monetary gain as a result of such decision.”

There must be evidence to show that a public official or other person acting on his behalf received some kind of monetary or other material benefit because of the “procedural lapses” in the performance of a public or government work or function, project, or scheme. Otherwise, the law will not apply.

The measure prohibits NAB personnel from making any public statements before or during an inquiry, regardless of the outcome. They might face up to a year in jail and a fine of one million rupees if they break the rules.

Additionally, the law proposes a five-year jail sentence for submitting fake references.

The judges of the accountability courts have also been given a three-year tenure under the new legislation. A year-long deadline for deciding a matter will also be made binding by this legislation. NAB has been made obligated by the proposed legislation to guarantee that evidence against an accused is available before to his or her arrest.

A complaint must be investigated within six months, and an arrested individual must appear in court within 24 hours of his or her arrest. The NAB no longer has the authority to hold an accused for 90 days on remand; instead, the time has been shortened to 14 days as a result of the law.

The process of appointing a new NAB chairman will begin two months ahead to the end of his tenure and will be concluded in 45 days, according to the statement. NAB chairmanship will now be decided by “federal government” rather than by the president after approval of legislation.

To avoid a stalemate between the prime minister and opposition leader, a parliamentary committee formed by the speaker of the National Assembly will decide the choice of the NAB’s chairman within a month. It is expected that the committee would include senators.

The statute “will be regarded to have taken effect on and from the start of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999,” according to one of the most important changes.