ISLAMABAD  -   Amid the ongoing controversy about rigging in national polls, the Senate on Thursday passed a controversial bill empowering the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to appoint retired judges of high courts as election tribunals without consultation with the respective chief justices.

The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2024 would soon become an act of the parliament, as the National Assembly has already passed the law, making dysfunctional the serving-judges led election tribunals hearing polls disputes.

The bill that seeks to restore the original provision of the Election Act 2017 is a major concern for the PTI which has been demanding that serving judges should hear election petitions. The party has levelled allegations of mass scale rigging in the February 8 general elections.

There was furore in the house when it passed the law with the majority of vote amidst the PTI protest, which labelled the piece of legislation as a “murder of democracy.” The opposition party lawmakers tore apart copies of the bill before they staged a symbolic walkout from the house.

Contrary to the parliamentary practices, the bill was passed immediately without being sent to the standing committee concerned for discussion.

Before the law was put to vote, Leader of the Opposition in the House Syed Shibli Faraz cried foul by saying that it was the last PML-N government when an amendment in Section 140 of the Elections Act had been made to provide for appointment of serving high court judges as election tribunals. “What is compelling the government to reverse it in less than a year,” he added.

He suspected that the move was aimed at managing the tribunals, adding that the timing of legislation explained and exposed the purpose behind it as a number of poll petitions were pending before tribunals.

PTI Senator Shibli regretted that the PML-N led government had brought the legislation as a strategy only to maintain its ‘fake majority’. Smelling foul, he said that “independent” tribunals under serving judges did not suit their political interests.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in his response said that the PTI should avoid lecturing them on democracy, recalling that the party during its days in power bulldozed 53 bills in just 45 minutes.

He also accused the PTI for introducing the result transmission system (RTS) to steal mandate in 2018 national elections. He said that Article 219 of the Constitution clearly stated that the appointment of election tribunals was the power of the electoral watchdog and not the high courts.

The Parliamentary Leader of PTI in the House Syed Ali Zafar opposing the draft bill said that it was an interference into independence of the judiciary and against the concept of separation of powers of judiciary and executive under Article 175 of the Constitution. “The law if it is passed actually threatens the integrity of the electoral process,” he said.

Calling the proposed law a ‘murder of democracy’, he said that the intention behind the legislation was to keep those in power who had been elected through rigging in the February 8 elections. He alleged that the ECP and those in power were the main beneficiaries of the law. “Let us expose this conspiracy. Enough is enough,” he said, adding that the floor of the Senate was being misused for this purpose.

Senator Ali explained the law proposed an amendment in Section 140 of the Election Acts 2017, which in its present form stated that the ECP would appoint sitting judges as election tribunals in consultation with the chief justice of the relevant high court. He added that under two apex court judgments, the consultation meant that the decision of the CJ would be final and a bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled the same after a controversy erupted between the ECP and the chief justice.

He went on to say that the government through the amendment was going to give powers to the ECP to appoint retired judges as election tribunals. It would be a mockery of justice that the ECP, which was accused of rigging, itself would appoint judges to decide election disputes, he added.

Former chairman Senate and PPP Senator Farooq H Naek challenged Senator Ali by saying that Article 219 of the Constitution stated it was the power of the ECP to appoint election tribunals on election disputes and not of the high court chief justices. “No one can be a judge in his own cause,” he said, adding that judges cannot appoint themselves as tribunals. He said that high court judges were always overburdened and took a long time to decide election disputes.

Senator Naek underlined that retired judges would help in early disposal of election petitions and the amendment would benefit the PTI petitioners, which were majority in number.

JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza said that it was the power of the ECP to appoint tribunals but the commission itself was an accused in the case. Saying that the question at the moment was about the legitimacy of the government, he underscored, “Everyone knows how it is easy to control retired judges.” Such judges are never answerable to anyone, he added.

At the end, the law minister moved a motion seeking immediate consideration of the bill, which was carried by the house amidst slogans of ‘shame, shame.’