The Election Act Amendment Bill 2024 has been passed by the National Assembly.

Bilal Azhar Kiyani, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), introduced a bill in the lower house of Parliament. The bill suggests modifications to the Elections Act 2017, with the aim of preventing parliamentarians from switching their party membership after a certain point.

The opposition expressed their objection to the passing of the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024 by protesting and tearing copies of the agenda of the house.

As per the bill, legislators are prohibited from switching political parties within three days of winning the election. In addition, it is not possible to assign reserved seats to a political party that did not win any seats in the election.

The Act was enacted in response to the Supreme Court’s allocation of reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

A 13-member panel of the highest court, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, determined that the PTI is qualified to receive reserved seats, delivering a significant blow to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling alliance.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah declared the 8-5 majority decision, overturning the Peshawar High Court’s ruling that had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to deny reserved seats to the SIC.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Ameenuddin Khan dissented from the majority decision.