The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday has said that the proposed Election Act Amendment (EAA) Bill contradicts the Constitution of Pakistan. The announcement came after a meeting was held under the chair of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The electoral authority, In a statement, said that it had submitted reservations against the proposed EAA bill to the standing committee, however, its stance was not discussed in the parliament.

"As per Article 219 of the Constitution of Pakistan, preparing and reviewing electoral lists is the constitutional duty of the election commission. And Article 222 says that the powers of commission can not be diminished or abolished,” EC said, adding, the new bill aims to take power away from the ECP.

The ECP said Section 17 of the new bill proposes to divide constituencies on the basis of voters, instead of population, which is in contrast to Article 51 of the constitution.

The commission also raised objection to the new amendment in Section 122 of the Election Act 2017 which will pave a path for the open ballot Senate elections. ECP said that it goes against the advice of the Supreme Court on Presidential Reference 1, 2020.