No Party Switches Within 3 Days of Election Win, NA passes Election Act Amendment Bill 2024

National Assembly (NA) approved the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024, introduced by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani. The bill proposes amendments to the Elections Act 2017, aimed at preventing lawmakers from changing their party affiliation after winning an election.

The bill stipulates that lawmakers cannot switch parties within three days of winning their seat. Additionally, it states that reserved seats cannot be allocated to any party that did not secure a single seat in the general election.

The legislation comes in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling that granted reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). A 13-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled in favor of PTI, overturning a Peshawar High Court decision that had supported the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) denial of the reserved seats to the PTI. The decision was delivered with an 8-5 majority, with Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Jamal Mandokhail, Naeem Afghan, Yahya Afridi, and Ameenuddin Khan dissenting.

The passage of the bill was met with strong opposition, resulting in protests and the tearing of house agenda copies by dissenting members.