Senate passes controversial Elections (Second Amendment) Bill as well

ISLAMABAD: Just hours after its approval by the National Assembly, the Senate passed the controversial Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, on Tuesday. The bill was introduced by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Talal Chaudhry, facing significant opposition from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators.

Earlier in the day, the National Assembly had passed the bill, which aims to amend the Elections Act 2017 to prevent lawmakers from changing their party affiliation. This move faced strong resistance from opposition members who labeled it “unconstitutional.”

The bill, initially tabled by PML-N lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani last month, was approved by the NA Parliamentary Affairs Committee with eight members in favor, four opposed, and one abstention by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) MNA Shahid Akhtar.

In the Senate, PTI senators disrupted proceedings as Chaudhry presented the bill, which they claimed was an attempt to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling on reserved seats that favored the opposition.

The Supreme Court had declared PTI a political party eligible for reserved seats on July 21, allowing its return to parliament but reducing the PML-N led coalition government’s two-thirds majority.

Once enacted, the legislation will prevent individuals who ran as independent candidates from later affiliating with any political party. This change could negate the PTI’s reentry into parliament following the July 12 ruling.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has since recognized 93 PTI members from three provincial legislatures and 39 PTI-affiliated National Assembly members.

Key provisions of the bill include retrospective application from the commencement of the Elections Act 2017. It amends Section 66 to ensure candidates who do not declare party affiliation before election symbol allocation are considered independent.

An amendment to Section 104 stipulates that political parties must submit reserved seat lists within a set timeframe, or they will forfeit eligibility for those seats. Additionally, a new Section 104A makes the affiliation declaration of independent candidates joining political parties irrevocable, prohibiting any subsequent changes.

The legislation argues that neither the Constitution nor the Elections Act, 2017 allows independent candidates to join political parties after their initial decision at the specified time in the Constitution.