ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s upper house of parliament approved a bill on Friday which seeks to amend the Elections Act, 2017, with an aim to grant autonomy to the country’s election regulatory body in setting poll dates without the need for consultation with other state institutions.

The development follows political friction between Pakistan’s superior judiciary and parliament earlier this year when the top court took up a case related to election delays in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party dissolved provincial legislatures in January.

The Supreme Court announced the Punjab polls on May 14 and instructed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to make necessary arrangements for the contest, despite reservations from ECP officials on administrative and financial grounds. The court also instructed the country’s central bank to release the required funds before submitting a compliance report.

As the government accused the judiciary of “trespassing” on the domains of parliamentary and other state institutions, the ECP requested legislation that would empower it to make more autonomous decisions while conducting national elections.

“The Election Commission of Pakistan enjoys administrative and functional autonomy under the provisions of the Constitution and the Elections Act, 2017 which facilitate the ECP in fulfilling its core obligation of free and fair elections,” said the Statement of Objects and Reasons associated with the bill.

“To further strengthen the Commission, amendments in Section 57(1) and 58(1) are required to be made allowing ECP to announce poll date(s) for general election at its own, subject to the Constitution,” it added.

According to local media reports, Pakistan’s law minister, Azam Nazir Tarar, said during the debate over the bill in the Senate that the ECP had already been empowered by the 1973 constitution to announce election dates on its own.

However, an amendment made by former military ruler General Ziaul Haq’s regime changed this and transferred the authority to the president.

Pakistan is scheduled to hold general elections later this year, with the country’s interior minister Rana Sanaullah promising the polls will be held on time in October.