The President of Pakistan, Asif Zardari, has officially signed the Election Act (Second Amendment Bill) 2024 into law. This marks the completion of the legislative process for the bill, which had been passed by majority votes in both the National Assembly and the Senate. Following the president’s signature, the Senate Secretariat has received the signed summary, and the next step will be to issue a gazette notification to formally publish the new law.
The bill, passed by the Senate on August 6, had previously been approved by the National Assembly. During the Senate vote, 30 treasury members were present, while the opposition had 15 members in attendance and did not propose any amendments.
Senator Farooq H. Naek confirmed that no further debate was permitted once the bill was passed. Opposition members, including Senator Ali Zafar of PTI, voiced strong protests, criticizing the judiciary’s involvement in election-related matters. Senator Naek defended the legislative process, asserting that any unconstitutional law could be nullified by the courts.
Read More: US Sues TikTok for Violating Kids’ Online Privacy Laws
Earlier, the National Assembly had passed the Elections Act (Amendment Bill) 2024, which included significant changes to the 2017 Elections Act. The bill, presented by PML-N’s Bilal Azhar Kayani and Zaib Jaffar, includes provisions such as treating candidates without a party affiliation certificate as independents and stipulating that the list of candidates for reserved seats must be submitted on time to qualify for these seats. Once a candidate declares their party affiliation, it is deemed irrevocable.
Following the bill’s passage, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan challenged the new law in the Supreme Court, seeking to annul it through a constitutional petition filed on August 7. The petition includes an Article 184-3 application and involves the federation and the Election Commission of Pakistan.
