Islamabad: The National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday rejected a bill to make an amendment to the Election Act 2017 so that a disqualified person could be prevented from leading a political party.
A total of 163 members in the House ruled against the motion while 98 members have voted in its favour, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced. The bill was tabled days after deposed premier Nawaz Sharif re-election as head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The PML-N was represented in the House today by 167 members. The government’s allies included the JUI-F, the PML-F and the PkMAP with 13, five and three representatives, respectively. One hundred and sixty-three members voted against the motion while ninety-eight voted in its favour.
The amendment proposed by the opposition sought amendment in the clause 203 to restrict disqualified members from holding any party office.
Law Minister Zahid Hamid clarified that the clause 203 of the Elections Act 2017 is not person specific. He said the political parties had not opposed the clause at the meetings of sub-committee constituted on electoral reforms.
Members of the opposition parties included the 45 of the PPP, 33 of the PTI, 24 of the MQM, four of the JI and two each of the PML-Q and the ANP. Last month, Senate passed clause 203 of the Act, restraining any disqualified person from leading a political party.
Sharif stepped down as the head of the ruling PML-N on July 28 following his disqualification on the same day in a landmark verdict by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case. However, on October 3, he was re-elected as president of the party unopposed as no one filed nomination papers for the candidacy in the intra-party elections.
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