The Lawyers’ Collective has issued a warning regarding the proposed Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution Bill, recently approved by the Cabinet. They state that if the bill is passed in Parliament by a two-thirds majority, the President must direct the Election Commission to hold a referendum within thirty days.
The organization highlighted that this would result in two parallel national elections, creating chaos as they would occur in quick succession. They also pointed out that the referendum would cost several billion Rupees, while the Government claims there is no money for local government elections.
The Lawyers’ Collective emphasized there is no urgency in lowering the upper limit of the terms for the President and Parliament. They suggest the proposed amendment could be an attempt to disrupt the electoral process by adding unnecessary complications.
“Parliamentary elections will indeed follow the Presidential election,” they noted, adding that there has been a significant discussion on the necessity for constitutional changes concerning the abolition of the Presidential form of government, the electoral system, power-sharing, fundamental rights, and the judiciary.
The Lawyers’ Collective denounced the proposed bill as an attempt to manipulate the electoral process and called upon all democratic forces to oppose it.
