Islamabad (Web Desk): The National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024 amid strong protest from opposition benches.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani moved the bill last month which was also approved by the NA Parliamentary Affairs Committee.
The newly passed Election Act Amendment Bill 2024 imposes restrictions on independent candidates, barring them from joining any political party after a specified period post-election.
As per the bill, the candidates who do not submit an affidavit of party affiliation to the returning officer, will be considered independent. It seeks to amend previous legislation that allowed independents to affiliate with political parties after elections.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Affairs Standing Committee Rana Iradat Sharif presented a report on the Election Act Amendment Bill during today's session.
The bill was introduced for approval, accompanied by a motion that the assembly overwhelmingly supported, despite vociferous opposition.
Members of the opposition expressed their discontent by surrounding the speaker's dais, tearing up copies of the agenda, and chanting slogans.
Ali Muhammad Khan presented amendments to the bill, which was opposed by the Minister of Law, Azam Nazeer Tarar.
The minister argued that the legislation was in line with the Constitution and not unconstitutional.
Ali Muhammad Khan, a representative of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), countered by claiming that the bill was intended to undermine the judiciary and obstruct their political rights.
"This legislation is a deliberate attempt to block our path and attack the judiciary," he stated.
He further accused the government of denying political representation to the SIC.
The opposition leader insisted that the bill was a targeted effort against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, questioning the Election Commission Pakistan's (ECP) "impartiality".
"The Supreme Court has affirmed PTI's status as a legitimate political party, yet this bill discriminates against our members," Khan said, as he emphasised the opposition's rejection of the bill and intent to challenge it legally.
The assembly then proceeded to a clause-by-clause vote on the bill, amidst continued protests and loud chanting from opposition members, who accused the government of using the bill as a weapon against the judiciary.
The opposition's amendments were defeated by majority votes, as the bill gained approval despite the charged atmosphere in the chamber.
The session ended with Speaker Sadiq calling for order as opposition protests continued.
Under the new amendment bill, parties failing to submit lists of candidates for reserved seats within the stipulated time will be ineligible for those seats.
The bill also stipulates that candidates failing to declare party affiliation before the returning officer will be considered independents, with the amendment retroactively effective from the Election Act 2017.
The bill, when it becomes a law, might reverse the PTI's return to the parliament after its "resurrection" in the assemblies following the Supreme Court's July 12 ruling which had declared the Imran Khan-founded party eligible for reserved seats.
Since then, the ECP has notified as many as 93 lawmakers from three provincial legislatures as PTI members.
The electoral body issued a notification of 29 members of the PTI from Punjab, 58 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and six from Sindh.
Meanwhile, 39 lawmakers in the NA, who had shown their affiliation with the PTI in their nomination papers, have also been declared by the ECP as PTI members.
At the outset, the house offered fateha for the departed soul of late MNA Mumtaz Mustafa and those who died in floods.
The House also offered Fateha for Pir Munawar Badsha. On the request of Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmaker Ali Muhammad Khan led the Fateha.
