Constitution 1973 § Article 213 — Chief Election Commissioner

Statutory text (English)

(1) There shall be a Chief Election Commissioner (in
this Part referred to as the Commissioner), who shall be appointed by the President 2[* * *].
1[
(2) No person shall be appointed to be Commissioner unless he has been a Judge of the
Supreme Court or has been a senior civil servant or is a technocrat and is not more than sixty-eight
years of age.

Explanation 1.— “senior civil servant” means a civil servant who has served for at least twenty
years under Federal or a Provincial Government and has retired in BPS-22 or above.

Explanation 2.— “technocrat” means a person who is the holder of a degree requiring
conclusion of at least sixteen years of education, recognized by the Higher Education Commission and
has at least twenty years of experience, including a record of achievements at the national or
international level.]
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 1[:]
1[
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.]
(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:
1[* * * * * * *]
4[
Provided 1[*] that the total strength of the Parliamentary Committee shall be twelve members
out of which one-third shall be from the Senate.]

Provided 1[further] that when the National Assembly is dissolved and a vacancy occurs in the
office of the Chief Election Commissioner, 5[total membership of the Parliamentary Committee shall
consist of] the members from the Senate only and the foregoing provisions of this clause shall, mutatis
mutandis, apply.]

(3) The Commissioner 1[or a member] shall have such powers and functions as are conferred
on him by the Constitution and law.

Source and verification

Source citation: Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, Art. 213: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN' (incl. 26th Amdt Act 2024 & 27th Amdt Act 2025), p. 108, 109, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 108, 109) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

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