An amendment of the Section 230 of the Elections Act 2017 is under consideration by the government, PML-N sources said.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is being considered by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party as the proposed name for the position of caretaker prime minister, The Express Tribune reported on Sunday. This comes as the government is considering changes in the Elections Act 2017 to allow the upcoming caretaker set-up to take decisions beyond its constitutional mandate.
The final decision on the matter will be taken in consultation with the Pakistan Peoples party (PPP) next week. PPP is one of the two main coalition partners.
Amendment of Section 230
An amendment of the Section 230 of the Elections Act 2017 is under consideration by the government, PML-N sources said. In order to allow the caretaker government to make decisions which are necessary for the revival of the economy, the amendments might be introduced in the National Assembly next week.
An unnamed senior cabinet member said the country’s economy is passing through a period where issues cannot be left for three months on just day-to-day decision-making. He stressed that a caretaker government should have more powers to take decisions concerning economic matters. This will help ensure that the IMF programme remains on track and Pakistan completes the second review in November.
Section 230 and interim government’s powers
The Section 230 states that an interim (caretaker) government shall only perform its duties to attend to day-to-day matters which are crucial to run the government’s affairs. The current law does not allow the interim government from taking major policy decisions, unless it’s an urgent matter. The government cannot get into a major contract if it is harmful to the interest of the public. It can also not enter into major global negotiation with other nations or global agencies, or sign or ratify international binding instruments, barring exceptional cases.
As per the sources, the government’s proposal includes changes to both the subsections of Section 230 which deal with the powers of an interim government.
Source : Financial Express
