PART VIII
Elections
CHAPTER 1. – CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER AND ELECTION 1[COMMISSION].
213.Chief Election Commissioner.-(1) There shall be a Chief Election Commissioner (in this Part referred to as the Commissioner), who shall be appointed by the President 2[****].
(2) No person shall be appointed to be Commissioner unless he is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court or is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court and is qualified under paragraph (a) of clause (2) of Article 177 to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court.
3[(2A). The Prime Minister shall in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, forward three names for appointment of the Commissioner to a Parliamentary Committee for hearing and confirmation of any one person.
(2B) The Parliamentary Committee to be constituted by the Speaker shall comprise fifty percent members from the Treasury Benches and fifty percent from the Opposition Parties, based on their strength in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), to be nominated by the respective Parliamentary Leaders:
Provided that in case there is no consensus between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, each shall forward separate lists to the Parliamentary Committee for consideration which may confirm any one name:
4[Provided further that the total strength of the Parliamentary Committee shall be twelve members out of which one-third shall be from the Senate.]
Provided also that when the National Assembly is dissolved and a vacancy occurs in the office of the Chief Election Commissioner, the 5[total membership of the Parliamentary Committee shall consists of] the members from the Senate only and the foregoing provisions of this clause shall, mutatis mutandis. apply.]
(3) The Commissioner shall have such powers and functions as are conferred on him by the Constitution and law.Footnotes:
Section 3 of the Constitution (Twenty-second Amendment) Act, 2016 (XXV of 2016), substituted the said word, in place of the word “COMMISSIONS” in the heading, in Chapter 1 of Part VIII of the Constitution, (w.e.f. June 9, 2016).
Section 77(i) of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (10 of 2010), omitted the words “in his discretion” from clause (1) of Art. 213, (w.e.f. April 19, 2010). Item 46 of the schedule to RCO (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), was added the said words at the end of clause 1 of Art. 213, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985).
Section 77(ii) of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (10 of 2010), inserted new clauses (2A) and (2B), in their present form, after clause (2) of Art. 213, (w.e.f. April 19, 2010).
Section 6(i) of the Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (1 of 2011), substituted the second proviso of clause (2B) of Art. 213, in its present form, (w.e.f. January 1, 2011), in place of the said second proviso as adopted by Section 77(ii) of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (10 of 2010), (w.e.f. April 19, 2010). The second proviso, as adopted in April, 2010, read :
Provided further that the total strength of the Parliamentary Committee shall not exceed twelve members out of which one-third shall be from the Senate:
5. Section 6(ii) of the Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (1 of 2011), substituted the said words, in place of the words “Parliamentary Committee shall comprise”, in the third proviso to clause (2B) of Art. 213, (w.e.f. January 1, 2011),Comparative Table of Article 213 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973:
Constitution of Pakistan 1962 :
147
Constitution of Pakistan 1956 :
137(2)
Constitution of India 1950:
Government of India Act 1935:
291
Leading & Latest Cases on Article 213 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 :
P L D 1993 SC 473
MUHAMMAD NAWAZ SHARIF
PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN AND OTHERS
P L D 1995 SC 66
SABIR SHAH
SHAD MUHAMMAD KHAN, MEMBER PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY, NWFP AND ANOTHER
P L D 2003 LAHORE 43
PAKISTAN LAWYERS FORUM
FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN AND 2 OTHERS
SC Judgment against the appointment of Chairman,National Accountability Bureau Ch. Nisar Ali Khan Federation of Pakistan, etc.