- Senate body passes bill binding ECP to hold LB polls within 45 days of dissolution of local government
The Senate Committee on Law and Justice Tuesday unanimously approved a bill binding the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the elections of local government bodies within 45 days of the dissolution of local government.
Constitutional Amendment Bill 2013 was moved by Senator Mohsin Khan Leghari that was later passed by the body unanimously. The bill seeking amendment in Article 140 A of the Constitution would now be tabled before the Senate for consideration.
Leghari said the country lacked a legislation binding the government for holding local body polls within a certain timeframe. He said constitution obligates the holding of general election within 90 days of the expiry of government’s term, so such law should be replicated in case of general body polls too. The country could not hold local body polls since 2005 owing to absence of relevant laws, he added.
The committee also examined a bill moved by MQM’s Tahir Mashhadi for giving voting rights to expatriates. During the discussion, PML-N’s Zafar Ali Shah said such legislation would adversely affect national political system and suggested that the overseas Pakistanis should only cast their votes in their homeland.
ECP Additional Secretary Sher Afgan Nizai apprised the committee that there were some legal and financial issues hindering such legislation that followed the committee putting off the matter till next meeting.
The committee rejected a bill moved by Tahir Mashhadi seeking right of contesting parliamentary elections by the dual nationals.
Senator Aitzaz Ahsan suggested that such restriction should also be extended to judges, army officers and bureaucrats.
The senate body also passed a bill to increase the sentence for the offences like stealing, selling, removing and other physical violation of dead bodies in the country to make a strong deterrent to grave diggers and violation of dead bodies.
