By On Tuesday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) introduced the Election Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the National Assembly. The proposed legislation seeks to restrict independent lawmakers from joining political parties beyond a specified period.
Presented by PML-N MNA Bilal Azhar Kayani, the bill argues that Articles 51 and 106 of the Constitution outline the allocation of seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies and the treatment of independent candidates. It notes that these articles permit independent candidates to join a political party within three days of the official announcement of the election results.
The bill claims that the Elections Act, of 2017, allows independent candidates to join political parties only at the time specified by the Constitution, not at a later stage. To align with the Constitution’s intent, the bill proposes that once the period for joining a party has passed, independent candidates should no longer be able to join any party.
Under the proposed amendments, a candidate would be considered independent if they did not submit a declaration of party affiliation with the returning officer before receiving an election symbol. Additionally, if an independent candidate later files a statement claiming to have contested the election as a party candidate, they would not be recognized as a party candidate.
Another proposed change stipulates that if a political party fails to submit its list for reserved seats within the designated timeframe, it will forfeit its right to those seats.
The bill also introduces the notion that once an independent candidate consents to join a party, this consent should be irrevocable, overriding any existing laws or court orders.
Following the introduction of the bill, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar recommended referring it to a committee for broader input. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq put the motion to a vote, and the bill was granted leave for introduction.
This legislative move comes amidst ongoing discussions about reserved seats. On July 12, the Supreme Court ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is eligible for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in both national and provincial assemblies. This ruling effectively recognized PTI as a parliamentary party, despite a split decision among the judges.
The court’s majority opinion stated that 39 of the 80 PTI MNAs had been officially recognized as PTI candidates. The remaining 41 independents were given 15 days to submit notarized statements confirming their affiliation with a political party.
On July 19, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) began implementing the Supreme Court’s decision, notifying 39 of the PTI MNAs. For the remaining 41, the ECP sought further guidance from the Supreme Court on verifying their party affiliation due to the absence of the party’s organizational structure.
Last week, PTI submitted a confidential list of candidates for reserved seats and signed statements from 41 independent MNAs claiming they had contested as PTI candidates. The ECP also notified 93 provincial assembly members as PTI lawmakers in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling but has yet to address the allocation of additional reserved seats.
