Laws & Acts — Chapter 6

Elections Act 2017

Why this chapter matters: this is the Act that runs every election in Pakistan — and, unusually for this subject, the banks barely test the Act itself. The script count in Section 16 finds no bank stem that names the Elections Act 2017, and no stem on delimitation, returning officers or electoral rolls in the site banks. What the banks do test, again and again, is the body the Act serves: the Election Commission of Pakistan — its Chief Election Commissioner, his term, and who held the office first. That thin-but-concentrated footprint is exactly why this chapter is written the way it is: the Act is taught in full at the level the papers ask (Commission, delimitation, rolls, nomination, polling, offences), and the bank-count section says plainly that the Act-name count is zero, so no student mistakes this chapter’s length for bank weight. If you are sitting an Assistant Election Commissioner paper, this chapter is the syllabus; for every other paper, learn the ECP facts in Section 3 and the section numbers in Section 2 first.

Boundary (read first): three things are easily merged and must not be. (1) The Constitution (Articles 213–226, taught at act level in LA-01) creates the Election Commission and fixes its composition — Chief Election Commissioner plus four members, one from each Province (Article 218, as amended by the 20th Amendment). (2) The Act (this chapter) is the working law under that Constitution: it organises delimitation, rolls, nominations, polling and offences. (3) The Rules made under the Act (Section 239) carry the forms and the detailed procedure. A question about the Commission’s composition is a Constitution question; a question about delimitation, nomination deposits or election offences is an Act question. This chapter teaches the Act and cross-links the Constitution, it does not re-teach it.

Exam Trend box

• 🔁 Most Repeated: the Election Commission / Chief Election Commissioner facts only — 5 unique stems in 5 distinct papers (PPSC PMS 2020, PPSC Assistant Zakat 2020, PPSC Assistant Director PESSI Labour 2022, CSS MPT 2022, PPSC Controller of Examination 2024), which meets the paper-count limb (≥5 papers) for that sub-topic. The mark belongs to the ECP/CEC facts, not to the Elections Act as a whole: the Act itself has zero naming stems in the scan, and this book does not transfer a sub-topic’s mark to a whole Act.
• ⭐ Must Know: the Chief Election Commissioner’s 5-year term — it passes 🔁 (above) and is still asked in 2024 (Controller of Examination paper, Section 16). The first-CEC fact (F. M. Khan) is 🔁 by the same paper count but is not singled out as ⭐ on its own, since its most recent bank appearance in this scan is the CSS MPT 2022 section.
• 🆕 Newly Appeared / Recent Trend: none claimed. No 2025–26 Elections Act cluster exists in the banks. The February 2026 current-affairs stem about a Chief Election Commissioner is not counted here: it concerns the Azad Jammu and Kashmir CEC (Retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, sworn in 20 February 2026), a different body, and is excluded in Section 16 rather than folded into a Pakistan-ECP trend.

1. The Act at a glance

• Full name and number: the Elections Act, 2017 (Act No. XXXIII of 2017). Note the plural: the short title in Section 1 is “Elections Act, 2017”, not “Election Act” — the singular form in this chapter’s slug and in the taxonomy is the common short form, and a paper that quotes the short title will use the plural.
• Assent and publication: assented to by the President and published in the Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary) on 2 October 2017 (National Assembly Secretariat notification No. F.22(27)/2017-Legis.).
• Extent and commencement (Section 1): it extends to the whole of Pakistan and came into force at once.
• Long title — what it does: to amend, consolidate and unify the laws relating to the conduct of elections and matters connected with or ancillary to them. Section 241 repeals 8 earlier laws listed there (Electoral Rolls Act 1974, Delimitation of Constituencies Act 1974, Senate (Election) Act 1975, Representation of the People Act 1976, Election Commission Order 2002, Conduct of General Elections Order 2002, Political Parties Order 2002, Allocation of Symbols Order 2002); the Act is therefore a consolidating code, not an amendment to one old law.
• Size: 241 sections in 15 chapters (Chapter I Preliminary through Chapter XV Miscellaneous, including the repeal in Section 241). This chapter teaches the chapters the papers ask about; it is not a section-by-section commentary on all 241.
• Definitions that recur (Section 2): “Commission” means the Election Commission of Pakistan constituted under Article 218; “Commissioner” means the Chief Election Commissioner appointed under Article 213 (including an Acting CEC under Article 217); “Code” means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898; “voter” for an Assembly or local government means a person enrolled on the electoral roll of an electoral area in a constituency, while for the Senate it means the relevant Assembly member (Section 2(xli)) — the Senate’s indirect electorate, in one definition.

2. Master table: the Act’s map

3. The Election Commission of Pakistan (Chapter II, Sections 3–16) 🔁 ⭐

• Composition (Constitution, cross-link to LA-01): the Commission is the Chief Election Commissioner plus four members, one from each Province (Article 218). The Act does not re-fix the composition — it gives the Commission its procedure and powers. Any question that asks “how many members” is answered from Article 218: five in total (CEC + 4).
• Chief Election Commissioner — term 🔁 ⭐: a person appointed as Chief Election Commissioner holds office for a term of 5 years (bank answer, PPSC Controller of Examination 2024 and PPSC PMS 2020 — Section 16). The distractors the banks offer are 3, 4, 6 and 7 years; the standard answer is 5.
• First Chief Election Commissioner 🔁: F. M. Khan (bank answer, in both the subject bank and the CSS MPT 2022 Pakistan Affairs section — Section 16). The bank’s distractors include G. I. Khan, S. A. Rehmat and Justice S. K. Bashir; the standard answer is F. M. Khan (given in the banks as “F. M. Khan” and “Khan F.M. Khan” — the same person, name-order variant only).
• Current holder — bank-time dating (trap): the banks’ “current CEC” answer is Sikandar Sultan Raja (PPSC Assistant Director PESSI Labour 2022 and PPSC Assistant Zakat 2020 — Section 16). That is the answer as the banks key it for 2020–2022 papers. It is not asserted here as the holder in October 2026: the standing file (CA-03) and the current-affairs month files carry the live holder, and a paper written after a change of holder will key the new holder. Never answer a “who is the current CEC” question from a 2022 bank key without checking the standing file.
• Procedure (Section 3): the Commission regulates its own procedure; it may act even if a member’s office is vacant or a member cannot attend, and the majority decision is the Commission’s decision. Where four attending members divide equally, or three attending members differ, the matter goes to the full Commission.
• Power to issue directions (Section 4): the Commission may issue such directions or orders as necessary for its functions, including an order for doing complete justice in a matter pending before it and for securing attendance or production of documents. Any such direction or order is enforceable throughout Pakistan and executed as if issued by a High Court — enforceability as a High Court order, not identity with a High Court.
• Assistance and control of officials (Section 5): all executive authorities in the Federation and Provinces must render assistance to the Commissioner and the Commission. After the Election Programme is issued and until the returned candidates’ names are published in the Gazette, no Government or authority may post or transfer an official appointed or deputed in connection with an election without the Commission’s prior written approval.
• Fair-election powers (Section 8): the Commission may stop the polls at one or more polling stations at any stage if it is convinced it cannot ensure a just, fair and lawful election due to large-scale malpractices including coercion, intimidation and pressures; it may review an officer’s order, including rejection of a ballot paper.
• Power to declare a poll void (Section 9) — the women-turnout rule: if, from facts apparent on the face of the record and after such enquiry as it deems necessary, the Commission is satisfied that grave illegalities or violations of the Act or Rules have materially affected the result at one or more polling stations or in the whole constituency — including implementation of an agreement restraining women from casting their votes — it shall declare accordingly and call the voters to recast their votes as for a bye-election. The Explanation is the examinable figure: if women voters’ turnout is less than 10% of the total votes polled in a constituency, the Commission may presume women were restrained by agreement and may declare the poll void. “May presume / may declare” — it is a presumption and a discretion, not an automatic voiding at 10% (Section 13).
• Contempt (Section 10): the Commission exercises the same power as a High Court to punish for contempt.
• Results management system (Section 13): the Commission establishes a transparent results management system for expeditious counting, tabulation, compilation, transmission, dissemination and publication of results in the Gazette and on its website. The Presiding Officer immediately takes a snapshot of the Result of the Count and, as soon as connectivity allows, sends it electronically to the Commission and the Returning Officer; the Returning Officer compiles the provisional results and, on or before 2:00 a.m. on the day immediately following polling day, communicates them electronically to the Commission. The Commission publishes the provisional results with gender-disaggregated turnout data on its website.
• Action Plan (Section 14): at least four months before a general election due on expiry of an Assembly’s term, the Commission prepares a comprehensive Action Plan covering delimitation, revision of electoral rolls, enlistment of political parties, allocation of symbols, appointment and training of DROs/ROs/AROs/POs/APOs/Polling Officers, polling-station and personnel lists, ballot-paper printing, the results system, new technology, observers, tribunal appointments, security and monitoring — followed by a post-election review in the next annual report.
• Complaints (Section 15): a person aggrieved by a decision, action or direction of an authority subordinate to the Commission, or by a political party’s or candidate’s violation of the Code of Conduct, may complain to the Commission within 15 days (other than election disputes under Article 225); the Commission decides, after enquiry and hearing, within 30 days of receipt and publishes the order on its website.
• Annual report (Section 16): the Commission publishes its annual report within 90 days after the end of every calendar year and sends it to the Federal and each Provincial Government, which lay it in Parliament and the Provincial Assembly within 60 days of receipt.

4. Delimitation (Chapter III, Sections 17–22)

• Who delimits (Section 17): the Commission delimits territorial constituencies for the National Assembly, each Provincial Assembly and local governments under the Constitution, the Act, the Rules and the applicable local-government law — and it does so after every census officially published.
• Seats (Section 18): National Assembly seats are allocated to each Province, the Islamabad Capital Territory and (in the 2017 text) the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, with seats reserved for women and non-Muslims as specified in Article 51; Provincial Assembly seats consist of general seats plus reserved seats for women and non-Muslims as specified in Article 106. The Act points to the Articles for the numbers; it does not itself fix the seat totals.
• How constituencies are drawn (Section 19): each Province is divided into as many separate territorial constituencies as its general seats under Article 51 (National Assembly) or Article 106 (Provincial Assemblies). A Province is a single constituency for all its reserved women seats in the National Assembly, and the constituency for all reserved non-Muslim seats in the National Assembly is the whole country.
• Principles (Section 20): general-seat constituencies are delimited, as far as practicable, having regard to distribution of population in geographically compact areas, physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience, to ensure homogeneity. As far as possible, variation in population between constituencies of the same Assembly or local government shall not ordinarily exceed 10%; if it does in an exceptional case, the Commission records reasons in the delimitation order. The two 10% figures in this Act must not be merged: delimitation variation 10% (Section 20) is a population rule; women-turnout 10% (Section 9) is a poll-void presumption (Section 13).
• Preliminary and final lists (Section 21): the Commission publishes a preliminary report and list of constituencies in the Gazette, invites representations within 30 days of publication (any voter of the constituency may represent against its proposed delimitation), hears and considers them, and publishes the final report and list within 30 days from the last date fixed for representations, in the Gazette and on its website.
• Amending the final list (Section 22): the Commission may, of its own motion and for recorded reasons, amend the final list at any time but at least four months before notification of the Election Programme, publishing the proposed amendments with justifications and hearing representations before deciding.

5. Electoral rolls (Chapter IV, Sections 23–49)

• Preparation (Section 23): the Commission prepares the electoral rolls for the National Assembly, Provincial Assemblies and local governments and revises them periodically; it arranges their computerisation, and a printout from the Commission’s database is deemed a published electoral roll.
• Registration Officers (Section 24): the Commission appoints a Registration Officer for each electoral area or group of areas, with Assistant Registration Officers as necessary, for preparation, revision, correction and amendment of the rolls.
• NADRA data (Section 25): NADRA transmits relevant data of every fresh National Identity Card issued to the Commission for registration of the card-holder as a voter in the electoral area of his permanent or temporary address as opted in the CNIC application, and likewise transmits data of cancelled or modified cards and deceased voters for correction.
• Who may be enrolled (Section 26): a person is entitled to enrolment in an electoral area if he (a) is a citizen of Pakistan; (b) is not less than 18 years of age; (c) possesses a National Identity Card issued by NADRA at any time till the last day fixed for inviting claims, objections and correction applications; (d) is not declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind; and (e) is or is deemed resident in the electoral area. An expired CNIC is deemed valid for registration and voting (Section 26 Explanation).
• Residence (Section 27): a person is deemed resident where his temporary or permanent address in the CNIC lies; a person in the service of Pakistan may enrol where he temporarily resides for service, with spouse and children likewise.
• Publication and objections (Sections 28–30): preliminary rolls are published and displayed for not less than 30 days with a notice inviting claims, objections and correction applications; claims, objections and corrections go to the Revising Authority within 30 days or more as the Commission determines from publication, and a late or improperly made application is rejected.
• Special enrolment measures (Section 48): the Commission takes special measures for registration of non-Muslims, persons with disabilities and transgender citizens as voters, including coordinated action with NADRA to expedite CNIC issuance; no election activity is delayed merely because such a measure is being taken.

6. Election Programme and election officials (Chapter V, Sections 50–59)

• Appointment of officials (Sections 50–53): for an Assembly election, the Commission appoints a District Returning Officer for each district (from its own officers, a government-provided list, or the subordinate judiciary in consultation with the concerned Chief Justice) and a Returning Officer for each constituency (same sources; no RO for more than one constituency save in exceptional recorded circumstances), with as many Assistant Returning Officers as necessary. Appointments under Sections 50–51 are made at least 60 days before issuance of the Election Programme, save for bye-elections or exceptional recorded circumstances (simultaneous appointment then). The RO appoints for each polling station a Presiding Officer, Assistant Presiding Officers and Polling Officers (never a person who is or has been in a candidate’s employment), submitting the list to the DRO for approval at least 30 days before polling day.

• Officials (Section 54 and the Action Plan list, Section 14): the ladder is District Returning Officer (DRO) → Returning Officer (RO) → Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) → Presiding Officer (PO) → Assistant Presiding Officer (APO) → Polling Officer. The RO does all acts necessary for effective conduct of the poll; the ARO assists and may exercise the RO’s powers subject to the Commission’s conditions and the RO’s control; the PO conducts the poll, maintains order at the polling station and reports any fact affecting the poll’s conduct or fairness to the RO; the RO may suspend a PO/APO/Polling Officer during the poll for recorded reasons and arrange an alternate, referring the matter to the Commission for disciplinary proceedings.

• Discipline (Section 55): an election official is deemed under the control, superintendence and discipline of the Commission from appointment or deputation until publication of the returned candidate’s name in the Gazette; the Commission may initiate and finalise disciplinary action and is deemed the Competent Authority under the applicable Efficiency and Discipline Rules.

• Oath (Section 56): every election official, before commencing election duty, makes an oath in the prescribed form and manner that he shall act strictly in accordance with the Act, the Rules and the Commission’s directions.

• Election Programme (Section 57): the President announces the date or dates of general elections after consultation with the Commission; within 7 days of the announcement, the Commission notifies the Election Programme in the Gazette and on its website. The programme’s fixed intervals (each “next day” rule subject to the public-holiday proviso) are: last date for nominations — the 6th day after publication of the notification; publication of nominated candidates — the following day; last date for scrutiny — the 8th day immediately following the last date for nominations; last date for filing scrutiny appeals — the 4th day following scrutiny; last date for deciding appeals — the 7th day following filing; revised list of candidates — the following day; last date for withdrawal — the following day; allocation of symbols and list of contesting candidates — the following day; poll date — not earlier than the 28th day after publication of the revised list. The Commission may alter the programme for recorded reasons, informing the President (Section 58).

• Polling stations (Section 59): within one week after appointment of Returning Officers, the Commission provides the proposed polling-station list for each constituency to its RO and publishes it on its website. As far as practicable, stations from the preceding election are retained, with distance preferably reduced to one kilometre between a polling station and its assigned voters; not more than 1,200 voters per polling station and not more than 300 voters per polling booth, with written reasons for any deviation. The RO personally verifies the proposed stations, publishes a preliminary list inviting objections within 21 days, the DRO hears them and publishes the final list at least 30 days before polling day in the Gazette and on the Commission’s website. A polling station sits in a Government building where available (otherwise a registered private educational institution’s building, or an improvised station on public property) and never in premises belonging to or under the direct or indirect control of a candidate. A highly-sensitive station may have a surveillance camera in each booth recording poll proceedings, counting and result preparation.

7. Nomination, scrutiny, withdrawal and symbols (Chapter V, Sections 60–67; Chapter XII)

• Nomination (Section 60): any voter of the constituency may propose or second any qualified person as a candidate — but no voter may subscribe to more than one nomination paper as proposer or seconder. Each nomination is a separate paper on Form A, signed by proposer and seconder, accompanied on the candidate’s solemn affirmation by: (a) a declaration of consent and of fulfilling Article 62 qualifications and not suffering Article 63 disqualifications; (b) a declaration of having opened an exclusive account with a scheduled bank for election expenses; (c) an attested copy of the CNIC; and (d) a statement of assets and liabilities of the candidate, spouse and dependent children as on the preceding 30th June, on Form B. The paper is delivered to the RO by the candidate, proposer, seconder or written nominee; the RO acknowledges receipt with date and time. A person may be nominated in the same constituency by not more than five nomination papers.
• Deposit (Section 61): the RO shall not accept a nomination paper unless Rs 30,000 for a National Assembly seat and Rs 20,000 for a Provincial Assembly seat is deposited (cash with the RO, bank draft in the RO’s favour, or cash in a specified National Bank of Pakistan account with receipt). Only one deposit is required even if the candidate files several papers. After the election, the deposit is returnable — except that a candidate who is not the returned candidate and obtains less than one-fourth (1/4) of the total votes polled in the constituency forfeits it to the Government; and a deposit becomes non-refundable if its return is not applied for within three months of the result’s declaration.
• Scrutiny (Section 62): any voter of the constituency may object to a candidature before the RO within the scrutiny period. Candidates, election agents, proposers, seconders, one authorised person per candidate and the objecting voter may attend; the RO examines the papers and decides objections, may require any authority or financial institution to produce documents, shall not enquire into the correctness of any electoral-roll entry, and shall not ask a question with no nexus to the nomination paper or arising otherwise than from objections or information received. The RO may reject a paper after summary enquiry if the candidate is not qualified, the proposer/seconder is not qualified, Section 60 or 61 is not complied with, a declaration or statement is false or incorrect in a material particular, or a proposer’s/seconder’s signature is not genuine — but rejection of one paper does not invalidate nomination by another valid paper, and a defect not of a substantial nature (including a name, roll serial number or particulars error) may be remedied forthwith. A nomination is not rejected merely because the candidate, unaware at filing, later deposits an unpaid loan, tax or government-dues amount (Section 62(10)).
• Appeal against scrutiny (Section 63): a candidate or objector may appeal the RO’s acceptance or rejection to an Appellate Tribunal consisting of a High Court Judge (or former High Court Judge where appeals necessitate) appointed by the Commission in consultation with the concerned Chief Justice. The Tribunal decides summarily within the Commission’s notified time and its order is final; if it cannot decide within that time, the appeal abates and the RO’s decision becomes final. The Tribunal may also, on its own motion on information received, call on an accepted candidate to show cause against rejection for loan/tax default, loan write-off, concealment or other disqualification.
• Withdrawal (Section 65): a validly nominated candidate may withdraw by signed written notice delivered to the RO on or before the withdrawal date, by himself or by a written-authorised advocate; a withdrawal notice is in no circumstances open to recall or cancellation.
• Party affiliation and symbols (Sections 66–67; Chapter XII, Section 217): before seeking a prescribed symbol, a contesting candidate files a declaration of party affiliation with a certificate from the political party that he is its candidate from the constituency. If more than one contesting candidate remains after withdrawal, the RO allots one prescribed symbol to each; a party-nominated candidate is allotted the symbol allocated by the Commission to that party and no other symbol, while an independent candidate chooses from the symbols not allocated to any party (a symbol chosen by only one independent goes to that candidate alone).
• Counting and results (Sections 90, 13): the Presiding Officer’s count documents (Result of the Count, Consolidated Statement, Final Consolidated Result, Ballot Paper Accounts) are sent to the RO under Section 90 and feed the Section 13 results system (Section 3 above); the returned candidate’s name is published in the Gazette (the publication Section 9(3) and Section 142(1) both run from).
• Election expenses and assets (Chapter VIII, Sections 132–138): a contesting candidate’s election expenses shall not exceed Rs 1,500,000 for a Senate seat, Rs 4,000,000 for a National Assembly seat and Rs 2,000,000 for a Provincial Assembly seat (Section 132); expenses incurred by any person or party on the candidate’s behalf count as the candidate’s. The candidate maintains an exclusive scheduled-bank account for election expenses (Section 133) and submits the return of election expenses on Form C within 30 days of publication of the returned candidate’s name (Section 134); the Commission scrutinises returns within 90 days of submission, failing which a return is deemed scrutinised and accepted (Section 136). Every Assembly and Senate Member submits an annual statement of assets and liabilities (spouse and dependent children included, as on the preceding 30 June, Form B) on or before 31 December each year (Section 137); a Member who has not filed by 15 January has his membership suspended by order on 16 January until he files.

8. Election disputes (Chapter IX, Sections 139–166)

• Election Tribunals (Section 140): for trial of election petitions, the Commission appoints as many Election Tribunals as necessary. A Tribunal comprises, for an Assembly or Senate election, a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court, and for a local-government election, a District and Sessions Judge or Additional District and Sessions Judge; a sitting judge is appointed in consultation with the concerned Chief Justice.
• Powers (Section 141): the Tribunal has all the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (LA-04).
• Election petition (Section 142): presented to the Tribunal within 45 days of publication in the Gazette of the returned candidate’s name, with prescribed security for costs deposited at a National Bank of Pakistan branch or Government Treasury/Sub-Treasury; all other contesting candidates are joined as respondents (Section 143). The petition states the material facts and full particulars of any corrupt or illegal practice alleged, with witness lists, affidavits, documentary evidence and affidavit of service (Section 144); relief claimed may be that the returned candidate’s election is void (and petitioner or another candidate elected), partially void with fresh poll in specified polling stations, or wholly void with fresh poll in the entire constituency.
• Trial (Section 148): trial follows, as nearly as possible, the CPC procedure for suits, and the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 applies unless otherwise provided. Facts are ordinarily proved or disproved by affidavit; the Tribunal proceeds day to day, adjournments ordinarily not more than seven days, and the petition is decided within 120 days of filing — failing which further adjournments cost Rs 10,000 special costs each and run at most three days, and a returned candidate who occasions delay may, after show-cause notice within 15 days, be ordered to cease performing the functions of his office until the proceedings conclude or for a directed period.
• Appeal from a Section 9 declaration (Section 9(5)): a person aggrieved by the Commission’s poll-void declaration under Section 9 may appeal to the Supreme Court within 30 days of the declaration. This Supreme Court route is the Section 9 route; it is not stated here as the general election-petition appeal route, which the Act does not fix in the sections taught above.

9. Political parties and symbols (Chapters XI–XII, Sections 200–218)

• Formation (Section 200): it is lawful for any body of individuals or association of citizens to form, organise, continue or set up a political party, which must have a distinct identity at national, provincial and local levels where applicable and a distinct name. A party shall not propagate opinions prejudicial to the Constitution’s fundamental principles, undermine Pakistan’s sovereignty or integrity, public order or public morality, indulge in terrorism, promote sectarian, regional or provincial hatred, bear a militant group’s name or armed-group leadership titles, impart military or para-military training, or be a foreign-aided party.
• Constitution of the party (Section 201): every party formulates its constitution covering aims and objectives, organisational structure at Federal, Provincial and local levels, membership fee, designation and tenure of office-bearers, criteria for receipt and collection of funds, and procedures for election of office-bearers, their powers including financial decision-making, selection or nomination of candidates, and dispute resolution.
• Enlistment (Section 202): a party formed after the Act’s commencement applies for enlistment with the Commission (the Action Plan item in Section 14(c)); enlistment is the gateway to symbol allocation and to the party-candidate route in Section 7.
• Symbols (Section 217): the Commission allocates a symbol to each enlisted political party under Chapter XII; the party candidate then takes that symbol and no other (Section 67 above). Allocation disputes are Commission decisions, not Returning Officer decisions — the RO allots symbols to candidates, the Commission allocates symbols to parties.

10. Offences, penalties and procedures (Chapter X, Sections 167–199)

• Corrupt practice (Section 167): a person is guilty of corrupt practice if he is guilty of bribery, personation, exercising undue influence, capturing a polling station or polling booth, tampering with papers, or making or publishing a false statement or declaration; or calls on or persuades any person to vote or refrain from voting on the ground of religion, province, community, race, caste, bradari, sect or tribe; or causes a person waiting to vote to depart without voting; or contravenes Section 132 (election expenses).
• Bribery (Section 168): giving, offering or promising, or receiving or agreeing to receive, any gratification (money or estimable in money, including entertainment or employment) to induce or reward being or refraining from being a candidate, voting or refraining from voting, or withdrawing or retiring.
• Personation (Section 169): voting or applying for a ballot paper as some other person, living, dead or fictitious.
• Undue influence (Section 170): inducing or compelling voting, candidature or withdrawal by force, violence or restraint; inflicting or threatening injury, damage, harm or loss; calling down divine displeasure or a saint’s or pir’s displeasure; giving or threatening a religious sentence; using official influence or governmental patronage; maligning the Armed Forces of Pakistan; preventing a woman from contesting or voting; using a place of religious worship for canvassing; or impeding the free exercise of the franchise by abduction, duress or fraud. “Harm” includes social ostracism, excommunication or expulsion from caste or community.
• Capturing a polling station or booth (Section 171): seizing the station/booth or place fixed for the poll, making polling authorities surrender ballot papers or boxes, allowing one’s supporters to vote while preventing others, coercing or threatening voters away from the station, or a government servant committing or aiding any of these to further a candidate.
• Tampering with papers (Section 172): intentionally defacing or destroying a nomination paper, ballot paper or official mark; taking a ballot paper out of the station or putting an unauthorised ballot paper in a box; without authority supplying, destroying, taking, opening or interfering with a ballot box or packet, or breaking a seal; forging a ballot paper or official mark; or causing delay or interruption in the post-poll procedure. An election official guilty of tampering is punishable with imprisonment up to six months, or fine up to Rs 100,000, or both (Section 172(2)).
• False statement or declaration (Section 173): a false statement or incorrect declaration in a material particular about a candidate’s personal character (calculated to adversely affect his election or promote another’s, unless the maker proves reasonable grounds for belief), about a candidate’s symbol, about a candidate’s withdrawal, or about assets, liabilities, loans, taxes, government dues or utility expenses.
• Penalty for corrupt practice (Section 174): imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or fine up to Rs 100,000, or both.
• Illegal practice (Section 175): disorderly conduct near a polling station; canvassing in or near a polling station; interfering with voting secrecy; adversely affecting a candidate’s interests; obtaining a person in the service of Pakistan to further or hinder a candidate; voting or applying to vote knowing oneself unqualified or disqualified; voting more than once at the same station or at more than one station for the same election; removing a ballot paper from the station; violating publicity restrictions (Section 180) or the development-scheme announcement restriction (Section 181); violating the public-meeting prohibition period (Section 182); failing to comply with election-expenses Section 134; carrying or displaying any weapon or firearm (including danda, lathi, knife or axe) at a public meeting or procession during campaign, on polling day or until 24 hours after official results; aerial firing or firecrackers at meetings or near polling stations; or violence against an election official or polling-station worker.
• Penalty for illegal practice (Section 183): imprisonment up to two years, or fine up to Rs 100,000, or both. Corrupt 3 years vs illegal 2 years, same Rs 100,000 ceiling — the pair to carry apart (Section 13).
• Polling-day order offences (Sections 176–179): disorderly conduct near a polling station (loudspeakers, persistent shouting audible inside, disturbing voters or officials); canvassing within 400 metres of a polling station on polling day (and exhibiting notices, signs or flags beyond 100 metres only with the RO’s permission at a place reserved for the candidate or his election agent); interference with voting secrecy, including photographing a marked ballot paper with a cell-phone camera or any device; adversely affecting a candidate’s interests as a fictitious proposer or seconder.
• Official-duty offences (Sections 184–188): an election functionary who wilfully or negligently tampers with papers, influences a voter, or fails to discharge an entrusted duty is guilty of violation of official duty; an election official or law-enforcement member who persuades, dissuades or influences a voter, or acts to influence the result, is guilty of breach of official duty; a government servant who misuses official position to influence results is guilty of violation of official duty. Penalty (Section 188): imprisonment up to two years, or fine up to Rs 100,000, or both.
• Other offences and trial (Sections 185, 189–190): failure to maintain secrecy (election official, candidate, agent, polling agent, voter or counting attendee) — imprisonment up to six months, or fine up to Rs 1,000, or both; enrolment as a voter more than once or in more than one electoral area — imprisonment up to six months, or fine up to Rs 100,000, or both. An offence under Chapter X is tried by the Sessions Judge (including Additional Sessions Judge); an aggrieved person may appeal the final order to the High Court (Division Bench) within 30 days. A false, bad-faith or ulterior-motive complaint about corrupt or illegal practice itself attracts imprisonment up to six months, or fine up to Rs 50,000, or both (Section 190(2)). Offences under the PPC at a polling station (attacking the station, snatching ballot boxes, kidnapping polling staff) are reported by the Presiding Officer to the RO for referral to the Head of District Police for FIR registration (Section 196).

11. Rapid-fire one-liners

• Act = Elections Act, 2017 · Act XXXIII of 2017 · assent + Gazette 2 Oct 2017 · whole of Pakistan · in force at once · 241 sections · repeal in Section 241.
• ECP = CEC + 4 members, one per Province (Art 218) · CEC term 5 years 🔁 ⭐ · first CEC F. M. Khan 🔁 · bank-time current CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja (2020–22 papers).
• ECP directions enforceable as a High Court order (Section 4) · stop polls Section 8 · poll void Section 9 · women turnout <10% = may presume restraint, may void (Section 9 Expl.).
• Results: PO snapshot Section 13 · RO provisional results by 2:00 a.m. after polling day · gender-disaggregated turnout published.
• Action Plan 4 months before general election (Section 14) · complaints 15 days, decision 30 days (Section 15) · annual report 90 days, laid 60 days (Section 16).
• Delimitation after every census (Section 17) · population variation ordinarily ≤10% (Section 20) · preliminary list, representations 30 days, final list within 30 days after (Section 21) · final-list amendment ≥4 months before Election Programme (Section 22).
• Voter: citizen · 18+ · CNIC · not of unsound mind · resident (Section 26) · special measures: non-Muslims, disabled, transgender (Section 48).
• Programme: President announces date after consulting ECP · nominations 6th day · scrutiny 8th day after nominations · appeals filed 4th day after scrutiny, decided 7th day after filing · revised list, withdrawal, symbols on successive days · poll ≥28th day after revised list (Section 57).
• Polling station: distance preferably 1 km · ≤1,200 voters/station · ≤300/booth · Government building · never candidate premises (Section 59).
• Nomination: voter proposes/seconds · one paper per voter · max 5 papers · Form A + Art 62/63 declaration + exclusive bank account + CNIC + Form B assets at 30 June (Section 60).
• Deposit: NA Rs 30,000 · PA Rs 20,000 · forfeit if non-returned candidate <1/4 votes polled · non-refundable if not claimed in 3 months (Section 61) · Senate deposit Rs 20,000 is non-refundable (Section 111) — a different rule, not the Assembly rule.
• Expenses ceilings: Senate Rs 1,500,000 · NA Rs 4,000,000 · PA Rs 2,000,000 (Section 132) · return Form C in 30 days (Section 134) · assets statement by 31 Dec, suspension 16 Jan (Section 137).
• Scrutiny: RO decides · Appellate Tribunal = High Court Judge · order final · undecided in time = appeal abates, RO decision final (Sections 62–63).
• Withdrawal irrevocable (Section 65) · party candidate takes party symbol only (Section 67).
• Petition: Election Tribunal Section 140 · within 45 days of Gazette publication of returned candidate Section 142 · trial 120 days Section 148.
• Corrupt practice: bribery, personation, undue influence, capturing, tampering, false statement Section 167 · penalty 3 years / Rs 100,000 Section 174.
• Illegal practice Section 175 · penalty 2 years / Rs 100,000 Section 183 · canvassing 400 m, display 100 m Section 177 · secrecy failure 6 months / Rs 1,000 Section 185 · official-duty violation 2 years / Rs 100,000 Section 188.
• Trial of Chapter X offences: Sessions Judge · appeal to High Court Division Bench within 30 days Section 190.

12. Most-asked facts

Every fact in this section is a bank stem from Section 16, not a frequency claim about the Act:

• CEC term = 5 years — asked as “Term of the office of Election Commissioner of Pakistan” (PPSC PMS 2020, options 3/4/5/6 years) and as “A person appointed as Chief Election Commissioner shall hold office for a term of” (PPSC Controller of Examination 2024, options 3/5/7 years). Two wordings, one answer.
• First CEC = F. M. Khan — asked twice with the same stem (subject bank; CSS MPT 2022 Pakistan Affairs section), against distractors G. I. Khan, S. A. Rehmat, Justice S. K. Bashir / Justice Muhammad Munir, Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Ghulam Muhammad.
• Bank-time current CEC = Sikandar Sultan Raja — asked in two wordings (PPSC Assistant Director PESSI Labour 2022: “Who is the Current Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan?”; PPSC Assistant Zakat 2020: “Who is currently the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan?”), against earlier holders Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan and Fakhar-ud-din Ibrahim. The lesson is the dating: a 2020–22 paper keys Sikandar Sultan Raja; a later paper keys whoever holds the office then.

13. Traps & confusions

• “Election Act” vs “Elections Act”: the Act’s short title is the Elections Act, 2017 (plural, Section 1). A paper quoting the short title uses the plural; the singular is only the common short form used in this book’s slug and taxonomy.
• Constitution vs Act: ECP composition (CEC + 4, one per Province) is Article 218; CEC appointment is Article 213; secret ballot is Article 226. None of those numbers is an Elections Act section. Conversely, delimitation principles, nomination deposits and election offences are Act sections, not Articles.
• Two 10% rules: delimitation population variation ordinarily ≤10% (Section 20) vs women-turnout <10% presumption (Section 9). One is about constituency populations, the other about a poll-void presumption. They share a number and nothing else.
• Two radii: canvassing is barred within 400 metres of a polling station, while candidate displays are barred within 100 metres except with RO permission at a reserved place (Section 177). Swapping them is the classic polling-day trap.
• Two penalties, same fine: corrupt practice 3 years (Section 174) vs illegal practice 2 years (Section 183), both capped at Rs 100,000. The fine does not distinguish them; the term does.
• Deposit forfeiture threshold: less than one-fourth of votes polled (Section 61) — not one-eighth, not one-tenth, and only for a candidate who is not the returned candidate. The Senate’s Rs 20,000 deposit (Section 111) is non-refundable outright — do not apply the Assembly’s return/forfeit rules to it.
• AJK CEC ≠ Pakistan CEC: the February 2026 AJK CEC swearing-in (Ghulam Mustafa Mughal) is a current-affairs fact about Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s commission, not an answer to any Pakistan-ECP question. It is excluded from this chapter’s count for that reason.
• “Current CEC” answers expire: Sikandar Sultan Raja is the banks’ 2020–22 answer. Quoting him as current without checking CA-03/the month files is how a correct bank answer becomes a wrong present-tense answer.
• Party symbol vs candidate symbol: the Commission allocates symbols to parties (Section 217); the Returning Officer allots symbols to candidates (Section 67). A party candidate takes the party’s allocated symbol and no other.

14. Memory tricks

• “XXXIII-2017, 2-October, whole-Pakistan, at-once” — number, year, Gazette date, extent, commencement: the Act’s identity card in one breath.
• “5-4-5”: 5 members in total on the Commission (CEC + 4), 4 months for the Action Plan, 5 years for the CEC’s term. (The two 5s are different facts — term and headcount — kept apart by the 4 between them.)
• “30-20, quarter lost”: NA deposit 30, PA deposit 20 (thousands of rupees), forfeited below a quarter of votes polled.
• “6-8-4-7-28”: the programme ladder — nominations day 6, scrutiny day 8 after nominations, appeals filed day 4 after scrutiny, decided day 7 after filing, poll day 28 after the revised list.
• “1 km, 1200, 300”: polling-station geography — preferably 1 kilometre away at most, 1,200 voters per station, 300 per booth.
• “Corrupt three, illegal two”: corrupt practice 3 years, illegal practice 2 years, both Rs 100,000.
• “400 canvass, 100 display”: the two polling-day radii, larger number for the wider ban (canvassing), smaller for displays.

15. Visuals (site build specs — declared only, never generated)

• Act map infographic: 15 chapters in sequence with the key section numbers from Section 2, placed under the header; the ECP chapter (II) and offences chapter (X) highlighted as the two most-tested chapters.
• Election journey flowchart: Election Programme (Section 57) → nomination (Section 60) → deposit (Section 61) → scrutiny (Section 62) → appeal (Section 63) → withdrawal (Section 65) → symbols (Section 67) → poll (Section 59) → count and results (Sections 13, 90) → petition (Section 142), placed after Section 7.
• Penalties table: corrupt practice / illegal practice / tampering-by-official / secrecy failure / official-duty violation with term and fine side by side, placed after Section 10.
• Trap-pairs card: the Section 13 pairs (Election vs Elections, Article 218 vs Act sections, the two 10% rules, the two radii, corrupt 3 vs illegal 2) as a single revision card at the end of the chapter.

16. Practice this topic — bank count, marks evidence and counting honesty

• Practice set: subject=laws + topic tags of Subject 11 Topic 6 (Elections Act 2017 — ECP, delimitation, nomination, polling, offences), with the script-recomputed count below. Until the AEC pack converts, the site serves this ECP-stem set for the chapter; the Act’s own sections are taught from the Gazette text (footer), not from bank frequency.
• Script: hidden_files/goldmine-notes-count-la06.py (mirrors LA-05). Scan: 571 files / 55,763 questions (FPSC site bank, PPSC site files, gk360 archive, CSS/monster conversions, gk360 monthly CA bank, gk360-papers archive; overlaps between banks included, as in the audit).
• Count: 7 rows, 5 unique stems. The 5 stems: (1) “Term of the office of Election Commissioner of Pakistan” (PPSC PMS BS17 2020, two bank files for the same paper — counted once as a stem, twice as rows); (2) “Who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan?” (subject bank + CSS MPT 2022 Pakistan Affairs section — same stem, two rows); (3) “Who is the Current Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan?” (PPSC Assistant Director PESSI Labour 2022); (4) “Who is currently the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan?” (PPSC Assistant Zakat 2020 — distinct wording, counted as a separate stem); (5) “A person appointed as Chief Election Commissioner shall hold office for a term of” (PPSC Controller of Examination 2024). Distinct papers: 5 (PMS 2020, Assistant Zakat 2020, AD PESSI Labour 2022, CSS MPT 2022, Controller of Examination 2024); the sixth file is the subject bank, not a paper.
• Zero, stated not hidden: a separate check of the same 571 files finds zero stems naming the Elections Act 2017 (“Election Act” / “Elections Act” in text or topic), zero delimitation stems, zero returning-officer stems and zero electoral-roll stems. Constitution stems that touch elections (Electoral College composition, minimum voting age 18) and the NAB corrupt-practice stem are not counted here: they belong to LA-01/PS-10 and LA-10 respectively, and counting them would inflate this chapter’s Act count.
• Excluded, stated not counted: 2 rows for the AJK Chief Election Commissioner (Retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, sworn in 20 February 2026, ca-february-2026.json, duplicated in the same file) — a different commission, excluded by the script’s AJK filter.
• Marks, derived from the count above: 🔁 on the paper-count limb only (5 distinct papers ≥ 5) and only for the ECP/CEC sub-topic; ⭐ for the 5-year CEC term (🔁 plus a 2024 paper); no 🆕 (no 2025–26 cluster; the 2026 AJK stem is excluded, not promoted into a trend). The Elections Act as a whole carries no mark — with zero naming stems it cannot meet either 🔁 limb, and this chapter does not borrow the ECP sub-topic’s mark for the Act.
• Bank-file note: the two “current CEC” stems spell the same holder in different word order (“Sikandar Sultan Raja” vs “Sultan Sikandar Raja”). They are counted as two stems because their question wordings differ, but they are one holder and one fact — the chapter teaches them as one fact in Section 12, not as two holders.
• Book mode: ← Previous: PERA Act 2024 · Next: FIA Act 1974 · ASF Act 1975 · agency/MOD acts basics →

Goldmine Notes · Laws & Acts · Chapter 6 · Sources: the Elections Act, 2017 (Act XXXIII of 2017), Gazette of Pakistan (Extraordinary), 2 October 2017, as reproduced at nasirlawsite.com/laws/ea17.htm — section numbers cited in this chapter were read from that Gazette text in this run (all 15 chapter headings and Sections 1–2, 3–16, 17–22, 25–30, 48, 50–67, 90, 104, 110–111, 132–138, 140–148, 167–199, 200–202, 217, 219–224, 230–241); Constitution Articles 213/218/226 composition via LA-01 (Constitution of Pakistan 1973 — act level); bank stems and counts by script hidden_files/goldmine-notes-count-la06.py (571 files / 55,763 questions, output hidden_files/goldmine-notes-la06-counts.json). No converted AEC pack file exists yet in the banks — no AEC booklet material is used here, and no raw monster-pack content is used. Standard answers only; the AJK CEC stem is excluded as a different body, and the “current CEC” bank answer is dated to its papers, not asserted as the October 2026 holder.