ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Tuesday passed a bill recommending amendments to the Elections Act 2017 to bar legislators from changing their party affiliation amid strong resistance from the opposition benches who described the legislation “unconstitutional”.
The development takes place following the legislation, tabled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MP Bilal Azhar Kiyani last month, secured subsequent approval by the National Assembly Parliamentary Affairs Committee.
The National Assembly panel had approved the bill with the support of 8 members, 4 members opposed it, and Shahid Akhtar, a JUI-F MNA, abstained from taking part in voting process. The legislation, once it comes into effect following the approval from the Senate and the president’s assent, will prevent the individuals who contested the general polls as independent candidates from changing their affidavit at a later stage to declare affiliation with any political party.
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The bill, when it becomes a law, might reverse the PTI’s return to the parliament following its “resurrection” in the assemblies after the SC’s July 12 ruling which had declared PTI eligible for reserved seats.
Since then, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also notified as many as 93 MPs from three provincial legislatures as members of PTI. The ECP issued a notification of 29 MPs of the PTI from Punjab, 58 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 6 from Sindh.
Meanwhile, 39 MPs in the National Assembly, who had shown their affiliation with the PTI in their nomination papers, have been declared by the ECP as PTI members.
