PTI vows to oppose NA bill amending Election Act on party affiliation issue
1. PTI leader Latif Khosa says party would not allow proposed legislation to pass in standing committee stage
Veteran politician and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Latif Khosa has expressed strong opposition to the government's proposed amendments to the Election Act 2017. Khosa vowed that PTI would block the passage of the amendment in the National Assembly's standing committee stage.
A day earlier, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq sent the Election Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to the relevant House Committee. This bill, introduced by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani, was criticized by Khosa as having "mal-intent."
The amendment seeks to modify Sections 66 and 104 of the Election Act, prohibiting individuals who contested general elections as independent candidates from later affiliating with any political party. Additionally, it states that political parties failing to submit a list of reserved seats within the stipulated time to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will not be eligible for these reserved seats. Furthermore, candidates who fail to declare party affiliation before seeking an election symbol will be considered independent candidates.
The proposed legislation has sparked a strong reaction from PTI, with Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan accusing the government of pushing the bill through the lower house in an "unconstitutional manner." He claimed that PTI, which secured 50% of the total votes in the February 8 polls, is being unfairly targeted despite their 41 MNAs submitting the required affidavits.
Khan expressed hope that the Supreme Court would enforce its July 12 verdict, which declared PTI eligible for reserved seats. The court had directed PTI to submit a list of eligible candidates for reserved seats to the ECP within 15 days, and the ECP to publish the list within seven days.
Since the verdict, the ECP has notified 93 lawmakers from three provincial legislatures as PTI members, including 29 from Punjab, 58 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and six from Sindh. These lawmakers contested the February 8 elections as independent candidates and later showed affiliation with PTI in their documents submitted to the election commission.
The government's attempt to amend the Election Act appears aimed at preventing PTI from becoming the largest single party in the National Assembly, posing a threat to the ruling coalition. The PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have already filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the reserved seats' verdict.
