ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has planned to conduct direct scrutiny of the financial statements submitted by the elected parliamentarians.
Source said the ECP has proposed an amendment to Section 137 of the Election Act 2017, which would grant the commission authority to directly examine the assets and financial declarations submitted by members of parliament.
Under the proposed amendment, the ECP would be empowered to take direct action if a lawmaker’s declared financial details are found to be inconsistent with their known sources of income.
The proposal also states that banks, government institutions and relevant departments would be required to provide information sought by the ECP. Institutions failing to provide the requested details within the specified timeframe could be considered in violation of the law and may face legal action.
The Election Commission has released the proposed amendment for public consultation and invited objections and suggestions until August 15.
The commission will review the feedback received from stakeholders before finalising the proposed changes.
