NA bill seeks to bar independents from changing affidavit regarding party affiliation

A new bill tabled in the National Assembly seeks restriction on the independent candidates from changing their affidavits regarding the party affiliation after a certain time. 

The bill seeking amendments to the Election Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was tabled by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani amid strong criticism from the opposition benches. 

One of the proposed amendment suggests that individuals who contested general election as independent candidate shouldn't be allowed to change their affidavit at a later stage to declare affiliation with any political party.

The amendments have been proposed to the Section 66 and Section 104 of the Election Act, 2017.

"Provided further that an independent candidate shall no, be considered as the candidate of any political party if at later stage he files a statement duly signed and notarised stating that he contested the general elections as a candidate of the political party specified therein,” read the bill a copy of which is available with Geo News.

The bill also proposed that political parties who failed to submit list of the reserved seats within the stipulated time to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will not be eligible for the reserved seats.

“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," the bill stated.

Moreover, it proposed that any candidate will be considered as an independent candidate if they fail to submit declaration for affiliation with a political party before seeking the allotment of an election symbol.

“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," the bill read.

"This Act shall come into force at once and shall be deemed to have taken effect on and from the commencement of the Elections Act, 2017," the bill read.

The National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq sent the amendment bill to the relevant standing committee in the House.

The development comes after the Supreme Court verdict that declared the former ruling party eligible for reserved seats of women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.

The PTI members had contested the February 8 elections as independent candidates and later joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) on the party's instruction in a bid to receive reserved seats as independents are not allowed under law to get reserved seats.

Ahead of the February 8 elections, the Supreme Court upheld the electoral body's decision to deprive the party of its iconic 'bat' symbol, leaving the PTI without a status of a political party.

After winning the most seats in the elections earlier this year, the PTI was denied reserved seats by the ECP and this decision was also upheld by the Peshawar High Court (PHC), citing that the party could not submit the list of its candidates for reserved seats in the stipulated time.

Dismissing the ECP's verdict, the apex court had on July 12 ruled that "PTI was and is a political party" that won general seats in the national and provincial assemblies in the February 8 elections, thus, is entitled to reserved seats.

In the landmark ruling, the apex court directed the PTI to submit a list of its eligible candidates for reserved seats to the electoral body within 15 days of the verdict. The ECP should then publish the list of reserved seats of the candidates on its website within seven days, the SC ruling stated.

Implementing the court orders, the election watchdog, declared 39 PTI lawmakers in the NA as the candidates affiliated with the PTI.

These were the MNAs who had contested the February 8 elections as independent candidates and shown their affiliation with the former ruling party in their documents submitted to the election commission ahead of the polls.

Faced with the possibility of the PTI becoming the largest party in the National Assembly after it gets the reserved seats following the SC's order, the ruling coalition partners, PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), have also filed a review petition in the apex court against the reserved seats' verdict.