A bill has been passed to empower the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce election dates without the approval of the President. The bill was passed in the Senate on Friday despite opposition from MPs from the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Election (Amendment) Bill 2023 was introduced by Pakistan's Minister of State Shahadat Awan in the Upper House of the Parliament. A statement about the objects and reasons of the bill said that the Constitution envisages the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct elections honestly, fairly and in accordance with the law.

Who decides the date of election?

Pakistan's Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said that the right to choose the date of elections was given to the ECP in 1973. He said that but Ziaul Haq gave this right to the President through an amendment. Let us tell you that Ziaul Haq is known as the former military dictator of Pakistan. Opposition MPs, especially leaders associated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have rejected the amendments outright. Leader of the Opposition Shahzad Wasim said that the Constitution is very clear about the date of the election and it empowers both the President and the Governor to announce the date of the election.

Why this bill was opposed

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party PTI has been demanding elections in the country for a long time, but Shahbaz Sharif's government ignores the demand of the opposition every time. At present, along with the social and economic crisis in Pakistan, the political crisis has also deepened. Due to this political crisis in Pakistan, many incidents of violence were seen. Recently, Imran Khan was arrested by the security forces, after which violence broke out across the country and vandalism and arson were done at various places. Not only this... the news of the loss of many lives in this violence also came to the fore.