After the National Assembly, the Senate of Pakistan also passed a bill barring independent legislators from joining a party after a stipulated time.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Senator Talal Chaudhry presented a private bill ‘The Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024’ amid protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The bill is perceived by political analysts and legal experts as an attempt by the government to avert the July 12 verdict of the Supreme Court, declaring the PTI eligible for reserved seats.
According to the bill, lawmakers cannot change the party after joining one within three days of winning the election. Furthermore, reserved seats cannot be allotted to a party, that did not win a single seat in the election.
“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 a 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’s text read.
