The National Assembly on Tuesday approved a bill proposing amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, which bars lawmakers from changing their party affiliation after being elected, and requires all parties to submit lists for reserved seats ahead of polling.
Tabled by Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani last week, the bill was reviewed by the NA Parliamentary Affairs Committee, which approved it, paving the way for its submission before the Lower House. The bill would now be placed before the Senate for approval. If the Senate approves the bill without amendments, it would go to President Asif Ali Zardari for final approval before becoming law.
Once it comes into effect, the law would effectively bar individuals who contested general election as independent candidates from changing their affidavit and declaring affiliation with any political party once three days had elapsed since their notification as returned candidates. It is being widely perceived as a means for the government to circumvent the PTI’s return to Parliament following a Supreme Court ruling that had declared the party eligible for reserved seats despite it not being a respondent in the case.
Under the bill, which comes into effect retrospectively from 2017, a candidate that does not submit a party affiliation certificate when seeking allotment of an election symbol shall be deemed to be an independent candidate. Similarly, it inserts a provision into the Elections Act, 2017, declaring that the consent or affidavit of an independent candidate regarding joining a political party becomes “irrevocable” and prohibits its withdrawal and substitution to another party.
Additionally, another amendment states that if a political party fails to submit its list for reserved seats within the prescribed time period, it would not be eligible for reserved seats at any later stage.
Since the ruling was announced on July 12, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has notified 93 lawmakers from three provincial legislatures as PTI members. It has similarly notified 39 lawmakers in the National Assembly as affiliated with the PTI on the basis of their affiliation in nomination papers. However, 41 lawmakers who had not declared any party affiliation and which the apex court had permitted to join the PTI anew have yet to be notified by the ECP.
Voting on bill
Ahead of voting on the bill, PTI MNA Sahibzada Sibghatullah said the bill should be referred to a parliamentary committee, with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar noting the standing committee had already discussed it. “I propose that the House reject [Sibghatullah’s] amendment],” he said, with a voice vote turning down the proposal.
PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan then accused the government of “attacking” the Supreme Court through the proposed amendments. He proposed the same amendment as his party colleague, which was rejected after the law minister said the bill was in line with the Constitution.
Sibghatullah then took the floor again, claiming the amendments were “unconstitutional,” and the standing committee approved the bill in haste. “They did not consider our reservations,” he claimed, adding the retrospective effect of the bill suggested “ill intentions.”
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan also took the floor after the legislation was approved, announcing the PTI would challenge the bill before the Supreme Court. Declaring it “unconstitutional,” he warned the government to take “lessons” from the ouster of former Bangladesh prime minister Hasina Wajed and correct its behavior or risk civil unrest.