ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs on Wednesday approved “The Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024”, a day after the bill was tabled in the Lower House of the Parliament aimed at prohibiting independent candidates from joining another political party after a specified period.
The Parliamentary Affairs Committee met at the Parliament House in Islamabad with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Rana Iradat Sharif Khan in the Chair.
In the meeting, six members voted in favor of the bill while four members voted against it. No member of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) attended the meeting while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) abstained from the voting process.
Earlier on Tuesday, the PML-N’s lawmaker Bilal Kayani presented the bill in the House which aims to alter Sections 66 and 104 of the Elections Act 2017, restricting independent candidates from joining political parties after a constitutionally and legally defined period.
Convener Parliamentary Taskforce on SDGs, MNA Mr. Bilal Azhar Kayani introduced a Bill further to amend the Elections Act 2017 [The Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024].#NASession pic.twitter.com/TOXj3GWuMG
— National Assembly (@NAofPakistan) July 30, 2024
The bill suggests that independent candidates should not be allowed to join any political party within the stipulated timeframe.
It also states that parties failing to submit a list of reserved seats within the specified period will not be eligible for those seats.
 Bill 2024 suggests that independent candidates should not be allowed to join any political party within the stipulated timeframe.){kind=link}