A joint session of Parliament on Wednesday approved amendments to the Elections Act 2017, granting caretaker governments the authority to take decisions on “urgent” matters and engage with international institutions.
The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was tabled by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi and was approved with a majority vote after being deferred for a day over criticisms from lawmakers about granting unconstitutional powers to unelected interim governments. Under the amended law, Section 230—pertaining to the powers of caretaker setups—has been amended to grant the authority to take decisions on ongoing projects in an ostensible bid to support the economy.
Earlier, the amendments had granted caretakers the powers to take “important” decisions, but this has been diluted to bar them from entering into new agreements with either bilateral or multilateral agencies. However, they would be able to take actions or decisions regarding existing bilateral or multilateral agreements or projects already initiated under the Public Private Partnership Authority Act, 2017, the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions Act, 2022 and the Privatization Commission Ordinance, 2000.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said the parliamentary committee on electoral reforms had met prior to the session and specifically examined Section 230 of the Election Act. Explaining that the objective of empowering caretaker setups was to ensure that ongoing commitments with multilateral agencies and bilateral donors are not hampered to ensure economic continuity, he stressed no new powers were being given to caretaker governments. The proposed amendments, he said, were aimed solely at ensuring that decisions already taken by the federal cabinet were not adversely impacted.
Apart from the section dealing with caretaker functions, the amended bill also features measures aimed at ensuring the timely compilation and announcement of election results. It has also increased the limits on permissible spending for electoral campaigns, and increased the fine to be imposed on any party that fails to hold timely intra-party elections. In total, over 50 amendments have been introduced to the Election Act, 2017.
Persistent controversy
Despite the “dilution” of the controversial clauses, both the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) criticized their inclusion, describing it as unconstitutional. Ahead of the vote, JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmed alleged the law had been amended to appease the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “This is against the spirit of the Constitution and concept of caretaker governments,” he said, slamming it as a “soft coup” aimed at making the upcoming general elections controversial.
Reiterating concerns previously voiced by lawmakers, he claimed the law could facilitate an extended caretaker setup and delayed elections. Rebutting this, Economic Affairs Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who also headed the panel on electoral reforms, said the proposed changes did not encourage an extended caretaker setup. He emphasized that the powers of caretakers under the new amendments had been restricted to ongoing multilateral and bilateral projects, with no mandate to initiate new projects.
Meanwhile, PTI Senator Ali Zafar reiterated his demand for the clause to be rejected outright. “If you do not reject it, then the Supreme Court will reject it,” he claimed, describing it as “unconstitutional and illegal.”