Constitution of 1956

First Schedule

The first schedule described the procedure for election of President.

First Schedule

Articles 32 and 33

Election of President

1. The Chief Election Commissioner shall hold and conduct any election to the office of President, and shall be the Returning Officer for such election.

2. The Chief Election Commissioner shall appoint Presiding Officers to preside at the meeting of the members of the National Assembly, which shall be held at Karachi, and at the meetings of the members of the Provincial Assemblies of East Pakistan and West Pakistan, which shall be held at Dacca and Lahore, respectively.

3. The Chief Election Commissioner shall by public notification fix the time and place for depositing nomination papers, holding a scrutiny, making withdrawals, if any, and holding the poll, if necessary.

4. At any time before noon on the day fixed for nomination any member of the National Assembly or of a Provincial Assembly may nominate for election as President a person qualified for election as President by delivering to the Presiding Officer of the Assembly of which he is a member, a nomination paper, signed by himself as proposer and by another member of that Assembly as seconder, together with a statement signed by the person nominated that that he consents to the nomination:
Provided that no person shall subscribe, whether as proposer or as seconder, more than one nomination paper at any one election.

5. The scrutiny shall be held by the Chief Election Commissioner at the time and place fixed by him, and if after scrutiny only one person remains validly nominated, the Chief Election Commissioner shall declare that person to be elected, or if more than one person remains validly nominated, he shall announce, by public notification, the names of the persons validly nominated, to be herein after called the candidates.

6. A candidate may withdraw his candidature at any time before noon on the day fixed for this purpose by delivering a notice in writing under his hand to the Presiding Officer with whom his nomination paper has been deposited, and a candidate who has given a notice of withdrawal of his candidature under this paragraph shall not be allowed to cancel that notice.

7. If all but one of the candidates have withdrawn, that one shall be declared by the Chief Election Commissioner to be elected.

8. If there is no withdrawal, or if, after withdrawals have taken place, two or more candidates are left, the Chief Election Commissioner shall announce by public notification the names of the candidates, and their proposers and seconders, and shall proceed to hold a poll by secret ballot in accordance with the provisions of the succeeding paragraphs.

9. If a candidate whose nomination has been found to be in order dies after the time fixed for nomination, and a report of his death is received by the Presiding Officer before the commencement of the poll, the Presiding Officer shall, upon being satisfied of the fact of the death of the candidate, countermand the poll and report the fact to the Chief Election Commissioner, and all proceedings with reference to the election shall be commenced anew in all respects as if for a new election:

Provided that no further nomination shall be necessary in the case of a candidate whose nomination was valid at the time of the countermanding of the poll:

Provided further that no person who has under paragraph 6 of this Schedule given notice of withdrawal of his candidature before the countermanding of the poll shall be ineligible for being nominated as a candidate for the election after such countermanding.

10. The poll shall be taken at the meetings of the embers of the National Assembly and of each Provincial Assembly, and the respective Presiding Officers shall conduct the poll with the assistance of such officers as they may, with the approval of the Chief Election Commissioner, respectively appoint.

11. A ballot paper shall be issued to every member of the National Assembly, and of each Provincial Assembly, who presents himself for voting at the meeting of the members of the Assembly of which he is a member (hereinafter referred to as a person voting), and he shall exercise his vote personally by marking the paper in accordance with the provisions of the succeeding paragraphs.

12. The poll shall be by secret ballot by means of ballot papers containing the names of all the candidates in alphabetical order who have not withdrawn, and a person voting shall vote by placing a cross against the name of the person for whom he wishes to vote.

13. Ballot papers shall be issued from a book of ballot papers with counterfoils, the ballot papers and each counterfoil being unnumbered; and when a ballot paper is issued to a person voting his name shall be entered on the counterfoil and the ballot paper shall be authenticated by the initials of the Presiding Officer.

14. A ballot paper having been marked by the person voting shall be deposited by that person in a ballot box to be placed in front of the Presiding Officer.

15. If a ballot paper is spoiled by a person voting he may return it to the Presiding Officer, who shall issue a second ballot paper, cancelling the first ballot paper and marking the cancellation on the appropriate counterfoil.

16. A ballot paper shall be invalid if -

(i) there is upon it any name, word or mark, other than the official number, by which the person voting may be identified; or
(ii) it does not contain the initials of the Presiding Officer; or (iii) it does not contain a cross; or (iv) a cross is placed against the names of two or more candidates; or
(v) there is any uncertainty as to the identity of the candidate against whose name the cross is placed.

17. After the close of the poll each Presiding Officer shall, in the presence of such of the candidates or their authorized representatives as may desire to be present, open and empty the ballot boxes and examine the ballot papers therein, rejecting any which are invalid, count the number of votes recorded for each candidate on the valid ballot papers, and communicate the number of the votes so recorded to the Chief Election Commissioner.

18. If there are only two candidates, the candidate who has obtained the larger number of votes shall be declared by the Chief Election Commissioner to be elected.

19. If there are three or more candidates, and one of those candidates has obtained a larger number of votes than the aggregate number of votes obtained by the remaining candidates, he shall be declared by the Chief Election Commissioner to be elected.

20. If there are three or more candidates, and the last preceding paragraph does not apply, a further poll shall be held in accordance with the preceding provisions of this Schedule, at which the candidate who obtained the smallest number of votes at the previous poll shall be excluded.

21. The three last preceding paragraphs shall apply in relation to the further poll and any subsequent poll which may be necessary under the provisions of these paragraphs.

22. Where at any poll any two or more candidates obtain an equal number of votes, then-

(a) if there are only two candidates for election, or

(b) if one of the candidates who obtained equality of votes is required to be excluded from a further poll under paragraph 20 of this Schedule, the selection of the candidate to be elected, or, as the case may be, excluded, shall be by drawing of lots.

23. When, after any poll, the counting of the votes has been completed, and the result of the voting determined, the Chief Election Commissioner shall forthwith announce the result to those present, and shall report the result to the Federal Government, who shall forthwith cause the result to be declared by a public notification.

24. The Chief Election Commissioner may, by public notification, with the approval of the President make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Schedule.

Source: Documents and Speeches on the Constitution of Pakistan
By G. W. Choudhury (1967). Green Book House, Dacca (East Pakistan)

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