Senate passed amendments to the Election Act changing the limitations of how long a parliamentarian can be disqualified on Friday.

In the rules passed by the upper house on Friday, in cases where the duration of has not been specifically outlined, a person’s disqualification to run for provincial or central legislatures will not exceed five years.

Read more: No such thing as lifetime disqualification in law, says analyst Mujib Shami

The amendments say that a person’s eligibility to become a member of parliament will be decided according to the criteria set under Articles 62 and 63 of the constitution. In case the Constitution does not have a special provision for disqualification

Any person disqualified through a court decision will be disqualified for a maximum of 5 years starting from the day the verdict is announced. Disqualification under Article 62(1)(f) will not extend beyond five years.

The new limits were introduced by amending clause 232 of the Election Act.

Senate also passed amendments giving the right of announcing the date of election to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Through amendments to section 57 of the act passed on Friday, the right that was previously with the president and the governors of each province has now been passed to the ECP.

The ECP will also be responsible for announcing the election schedule and will be allowed to make changes to it as well.