The National Assembly Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs has approved the Election Act Amendment Bill with a majority vote. The bill was passed with 8 votes in favor, 4 against, and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) abstaining.

The bill will be presented to the National Assembly for final approval on Friday.

The committee discussed amendments to the Election Act 2017 during the meeting.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar explained the bill, but Ali Muhammad Khan of the PTI objected to the Minister’s explanation, citing the bill’s private member status.

Khan argued that the Minister should not be advocating for a private bill and that the bill’s sponsor should be the one explaining it. He suggested that the bill might be aligned with the Minister’s own agenda.

In response, Tarar defended the amendment, stating that Parliament has the right to legislate on matters that affect its authority. He emphasized that law-making is the prerogative of Parliament, not the judiciary.

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Tarar further clarified that the bill doesn’t introduce any new provisions. It simply codifies existing rules regarding membership in political parties, which stipulate a three-day waiting period before joining another party. He questioned the legal basis for allowing a member to switch parties again after the waiting period.

He explained that the bill clarifies that a member can only join one party once and that the designated seats will be allocated to the party that submitted the list of candidates. He asserted that the amendment merely formalizes existing rules and will have retrospective effect.