Earlier today, the National Assembly’s (NA) Parliamentary Affairs Committee approved the bill proposing amendments to the Elections Act 2017 aims to bar parliamentarians from changing their affiliation at later stage.
The amendments seek that a political party should not be allocated seats reserved for women and minorities if it failed to submit its list for the reserved seats within the prescribed period.
In addition amendments proposed in the bill said that a candidate should be considered an independent lawmaker if they had not filed a declaration with the returning officer about their affiliation with a particular political party before seeking the allotment of a poll symbol.
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PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan said that the bill seems to have come with the will of the federal law minister. He added the bill would be tantamount to pitting Parliament against the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, the bill was tabled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani proposing amendments to the Section 66 and Section 104 of the Election Act, 2017.
The NA committee passed the bill with the support of eight members while four members opposed it. However, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) MNA Shahid Akhtar abstained from voting.
The bill proposed that the individuals who contested general election as independent candidate cannot change their affidavit at a later stage to declare affiliation with any political party.
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Section 66 reads: “A contesting candidate, before seeking allotment of a prescribed symbol, shall file a declaration before the Returning Officer about his affiliation with a particular political party, if any, along with a certificate from the political party showing that he is that party‘s candidate from the constituency.”
The bill reads: "Provided further that an independent candidate shall no, be considered as the candidate of any political party if at later stage he files a statement duly signed and notarised stating that he contested the general elections as a candidate of the political party specified therein.”
It also proposed that political parties who failed to submit list of the reserved seats within the stipulated time to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will not be eligible for the reserved seats.
Section 104 says: Party lists for reserved seats.—(1) For the purpose of election to seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in an Assembly, the political parties contesting election for such seats shall, within the period fixed by the Commission for submission of nomination papers, file separate lists of their candidates in order of priority for seats reserved for women and non-Muslims with the Commission or, as it may direct, with the Provincial Election Commissioner or other authorized officer of the Commission, who shall forthwith cause such lists to be published for information of the public:”
The bill read: “Provided further that if any political party fails to submit its list for reserved seats within the aforesaid prescribed time period, it shall not be eligible for the quota in the reserved seats at later stage," the bill stated.
“Provided that if a candidate, before seeking allotment of a prescribed symbol, has not filed a declaration before the returning officer about his affiliation with a particular political party by submitting party certificate from the political party confirming that he is that party’s candidate, he shall be deemed to be considered as an independent candidate and not a candidate of any political party," the bill read.
It further read: "This Act shall come into force at once and shall be deemed to have taken effect on and from the commencement of the Elections Act, 2017.”
Pundits are of the view that the bill aims to frustrate the apex court’s judgement dated July 12, which had confirmed PTI’s status as a parliamentary party and declared it eligible for reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies.
