President Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024, making it an official act.
According to sources, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024 after it was approved by a majority vote in both the National Assembly and the Senate, officially making it an Election Act.
Sources indicate that President Zardari signed the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024 last night, after which the bill was sent to the Senate Secretariat for gazette notification.
The National Assembly has now issued the gazette notification for the Election Amendment Act 2024.
It is important to note that the Senate also approved the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024 by a majority vote following the National Assembly’s approval yesterday. After the bill’s approval, opposition members protested vehemently and chanted slogans.
Reserved Seats Case: ECP has filed a review petition in the SC
In this regard, leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have stated that the government has launched an attack on the Supreme Court through Parliament, meaning one institution has attacked another to suppress a political party.
What is the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024?
This amendment bill was introduced in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on reserved seats on July 12, which ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to allocate reserved seats to the PTI.
According to the first amendment, no member of the assembly can change their party affiliation certificate.
The second amendment stipulates that a party must have submitted its list on time to obtain reserved seats.
The first amendment was introduced into Section 66 of the Election Act 2017, while the second amendment was introduced into Section 104 of the Election Act 2017. According to the Amendment Act 2024, both amendments will come into effect immediately after approval.
In opposition to this bill’s approval, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar has challenged the Election Commission Amendment Act in the Supreme Court.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, through Salman Akram Raja, has filed a petition under Article 184/3 in the Supreme Court, naming the federation and the Election Commission as parties.
