Parliament approves use of EVMs, voting rights to overseas Pakistanis amid ruckus

ISLAMABAD: (HRNW) The joint session of parliament has adopted a motion moved by Adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan to take up the Elections Act amendment Bill, 2021 after 221 members voted for the amendment and 203 voted against it.

Voting on the motion is underway, and at least 10 bills so far have been passed. The opposition stages a brief walkout from the house in protest and came back following which, several bills were passed smoothly.

The house has adopted two amendments for use of electronic voting machines and for giving voting rights to overseas Pakistanis. The International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) bill has also been adopted.

Three more bills namely, the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trail) Bill and Hyderabad Institute for Technical, Management Sciences Bill and Islamabad Rent Restrictions (Amendment) Bill have also been passed by a majority of votes in the joint sitting of the parliament.

At the start of the joint sitting on Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif asked Speaker Asad Qaiser to adjourn the session and make the government consult opposition parties on the electoral reforms bills.

The government is set to table the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2021 and the Elections Second Amendment Bill 2021 in the parliament.

Speaking on the floor of the parliament, Shehbaz said that it was imperative that the bills were rejected by the House today, and added, “Today is an important day in the parliamentary history of Pakistan.”

Taking a jibe at Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, the PML-N leader said that the PTI government did not want to consult the opposition on the electoral reforms.

“The government and its allies want to bulldoze the bills, and if you allowed this to happen, the history will never forgive you,” Shehbaz told speaker NA.

Allies of the PTI were not on the same, and this is why the government had postponed the last session. “It was only a ploy to buy time,” Shehbaz alleged.

The PML-N leader said that the government was trying to introduce EVMs so they could rig the next general elections.

“Through machines, the government is aiming to extend its tenure, and the opposition will not let it happen.”