ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on private members’ day introduced, “The Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024”, which provides 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 a later stage.
The bill also prohibits independent candidates from joining another political party after a specified period. It restricts independent candidates/ candidate from joining political parties after a constitutionally and legally defined period.
The National Assembly, Tuesday, introduced as many as six bills which were referred to concerned standing committees for further deliberation. The House passed one bill (The National Excellence Institute Bill, 2024) as moved by MNA Bilal Azhar Kayani.
MNA Dr Nafisa Shah of PPP tabled a bill in the house to amend the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007 for passage but the speaker referred it again to the relevant standing committee for further deliberation.
According to Clause 2(b) of the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024 as introduced by Bilal Azhar Kayani and Ms Zeb Jaffar of PML-N, “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: 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 notarized stating that he contested the general election as a candidate of the political party specified therein.”
The Clause 3(b) of the bill further described as “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.”
According to Clause 4 of the bill about inserting new Section 104A in the Election Act, 2017, “Consent for joining of political party by independent returned candidate to be irrevocable.- Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force or a judgment, decree or order of any court including the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a High Court, the consent of an independent returned candidate once given for joining a political party for purposes of clause (6) of Article 51 or clause (3) of Article 106 shall be irrevocable.”
As many as six bills were introduced in the National Assembly, on Tuesday, whereas, the chair referred the bills to the relevant committees for further consideration.
Six bills introduced in the Lower House of the Parliament included, The Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Article-9A), The Federal Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2024, The Pakistan Examination Board Bill, 2024, The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (Article27), and The West Pakistan Maintenance of Public Order (Repeal) Bill, 2024.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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