ISLAMABAD: The government has addressed all the concerns of the coalition partners regarding the legislation on electronic voting machines (EVM).

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed while briefing media after premier's meeting with the PTI's coalition partners, said that 8 bills instead of 32 will be presented for approval in the meeting. The prime minister had personally addressed the reservations of the allied parties, Rasheed added.

Rasheed said that PML-Q and MQM assured their full support on the legislation for electoral reforms in joint-sitting of the Parliament.

“All the coalition partners including Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan have agreed on the bills [related EVMs and I-voting] to be tabled in the joint session of the Parliament,” he said.

Talking to media, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that after consultation with the allies, it was unanimously decided that a joint sitting of the Parliament would be summoned for Wednesday at 2 pm.

He said that allied parties expressed confidence in the prime minister's leadership.

He said bills pertaining to electoral reforms will be tabled in the session.

Last week, the government put off a joint session of Parliament within 24 hours of its summoning due to a lack of required numbers of its lawmakers and reservations relayed by its own allies.

According to the sources the government’s allies, PML-Q, MQM Pakistan, GDA, and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), had serious reservations about the functioning of the government and none of them assured the ruling party of voting for the government bills in the joint sitting.

The sources said that the leadership of the ruling party asked its allies to express their point of view, about the bills, by Monday so that a decision could be taken about the summoning of the joint sitting this week.