The newly-formed Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday banned candidates having dual nationality from participating in elections. The decision was taken in a meeting in the ECP Secretariat with Chief Election Commissioner Justice Hamid Ali Mirza in the chair and attended by all four members.
A source in ECP told Pakistan Today that during the course of the meeting, the commission recommended the government to further legislate on the issue to strengthen Article 63/1C. Article 63/1C states, “A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoura (parliament) if he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan or acquire the citizenship of a foreign state.” The source said in the absence of a proper mechanism on the part of the ECP, dual nationality of current lawmakers could not be checked.
