National Assembly Approves Election Act Amendment Bill 2024, Restricting Independent Candidates from Joining Political Parties

Islamabad: The National Assembly has passed the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024, which stipulates that independent candidates cannot join any political party after a specified period. The bill was presented by Bilal Kiyani, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), during a session chaired by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
Members of the Sunni Ittehad Council proposed amendments to the bill, but these were rejected by the majority of the ruling party members. PTI’s Ali Mohammad Khan criticized the bill, accusing it of undermining the judiciary and using Parliament to attack the Supreme Court. He argued that the bill seeks to deny rights granted by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
In protest, Sunni Ittehad Council and PTI-supported members voiced their opposition with chants of “No to attack on judiciary,” turning the assembly into a chaotic scene.
Despite the uproar, the National Assembly approved the bill by a majority vote. The new legislation will be applied retroactively from 2017. Under the new law, independent candidates will not be allowed to join any political party after a specified period, as outlined in the Constitution and the Election Act 2017.
The bill also stipulates that any candidate who does not submit a declaration of party affiliation to the returning officer will be considered independent. Additionally, candidates who declare their party affiliation post-election will not be recognized as party candidates, and the second amendment to the Election Act 2017 will come into effect.