Pakistan Muslim League-N lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani on Tuesday tabled the Election Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the National Assembly, proposing 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.
The amendments have been proposed to the Section 66 and Section 104 of the Election Act, 2017.
“Provided further that an independent candidate shall not 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,” read the bill.
The bill also proposed that political parties who failed to submit list of the reserved seats within the stipulated time to the Election Commission of Pakistan will not be eligible for the reserved seats.
“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.
Moreover, it proposed that any candidate will be considered as an independent candidate if they fail to submit declaration for affiliation with a political party before seeking the allotment of an election symbol.
“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.
“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,” the bill read.
The amendment bill was tabled amid strong criticism from the opposition benches. Later, the National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq sent the bill to the relevant standing committee in the House.
The development comes after the Supreme Court verdict that declared the former ruling party eligible for reserved seats of women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.
The PTI members had contested the February 8 elections as independent candidates and later joined the Sunni Ittehad Council on the party’s instruction in a bid to receive reserved seats as independents are not allowed under law to get reserved seats.
