Amendments to Elections Act 2017 as per Constitution: Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Tuesday brushed aside the Opposition’s accusations of amending the Elections Act 2017 against the law and clarified that the amendments were carried out as per the Constitution and the National Assembly (NA) Rules of Business.

The law minister made these remarks in response to Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Member National Assembly (MNA) Barrister Gohar Khan’s accusations at the point of order during the fourth meeting of the eighth National Assembly session.

Tarar underscored that the amendments introduced in the Elections Act 2017 were as per the Constitutional scheme entailed in the Article 51 and 106 and the legal framework adopted by this House, after 102 meetings, with consensus in 2017.

He said the Opposition member had alleged that the Election Act (Second Amendment) Bill 2024 was not being sent to the Law and Justice standing committee of the Lower House of the Parliament.

“As per rules and business, it is allocated to the standing committee of Parliamentary Affairs where SIC’s MNA Ali Muhammad Khan and others deliberated on the matter. The amendment is as per the constitution and within the rules of business and code of conduct of the National Assembly,” the Minister maintained.

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Moreover, the minister lashed out at PTI for accusing the government of poor legislation, saying that the party itself had passed 51 bills in a single day during its tenure.

Tarar said that the PTI had acted as a “mission” to open constituencies, with its founder claiming that they would “open up” constituencies that were won by others. He added that the PTI has always been prone to making U-turns, and their own legislative record is a testament to this.

Tarar criticised the PTI for pointing fingers at others, saying that they should examine their own actions before casting aspersions.