ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly approved a bill on Tuesday that amends the Elections Act 2017 to prevent lawmakers from switching party affiliations after their election.
The development follows the approval of legislation by the National Assembly Parliamentary Affairs Committee, which was tabled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani last month.
The bill has passed with eight votes in favor, four opposed, and one abstention by Shahid Akhtar, a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) MNA.
Bill approved by the Senate and receiving the president’s assent, the legislation will prevent individuals who ran as independent candidates in general elections from later changing their affidavits to declare affiliation with any political party.
The new law can affect the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s recent return to parliament. This follows the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling, which declared PTI eligible for reserved seats.
Since then, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has recognized 93 lawmakers from provincial assemblies as PTI members, including 29 from Punjab, 58 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and six from Sindh.
Additionally, 39 National Assembly members who declared PTI affiliation in their nomination papers have also been confirmed by the ECP.
