ISLAMABAD: An opposition member introduced a private member’s bill in the National Assembly on Thursday, seeking a ban on a candidate if he or she contests elections on more than two seats simultaneously.

The bill was tabled as lawmakers continued assailing the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) for its ongoing protests, urging the federal government to deal with the situation as per the Constitution.

The bill seeking an amendment to Article 223 of the Constitution, which allows any person to contest election on multiple seats, was tabled by Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, the lone member of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI). Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf referred the bill to the relevant house committee after the government supported the move.

“Anything contained in clause (1) shall not prevent any person from being a candidate for maximum two seats either in one assembly or two assemblies at the same time,” reads the proposed amendment.

JI’s Chitrali moves amendment, PTI leadership lambasted for tirade against state institutions

The proposed amendment suggests that in case of winning both seats, the candidate will have to vacate one seat within 30 days.

While tabling the bill, Maulana Chitrali argued that at present the Constitution allowed citizens to contest elections in multiple constituencies whereas after winning the elections, he or she could retain only one seat.

The JI member said that according to a report, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) spent Rs20.7 million for conducting the election in one constituency.

He said due to unprecedented inflation over the past few years, it was estimated that the ECP would be requiring Rs46 billion for the next national and provincial elections and if this amount was divided into 272 National Assembly constituencies, then the expenditure on one constituency would be around Rs100.6m.

“It is unimaginable that a candidate contests elections on eight seats simultaneously and later retains only one,” said Mr Chitrali without naming PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who last month contested by-elections on seven seats simultaneously and won all of them, except the one from Karachi.

“It is a grave injustice with voters as well as great loss to the national kitty and the country,” he said.

Earlier, at the outset, a PTI dissident and Opposition Leader Raja Riaz Ahmad drew the attention of the house to the ongoing long march and protest sit-ins in various cities being held by the PTI, alleging that the sole purpose of these activities was to disrupt peace, particularly at a time when the Saudi crown prince was about to visit the country.

He recalled that Mr Khan had also allegedly sabotaged the visit of the Chinese president through a similar protest in 2014.

“Imran Khan is on the agenda to destabilise the economy with persistent protests, [and is] apparently against the foreign investment by brotherly and friendly countries,” he said, adding these protests were also causing tension and hardship for the masses since they were unable to attend social events. Besides, he said, the protests had become a nuisance for the business community.

Mr Riaz urged the federal government to act seriously, claiming that very few people were participating in these protests.

Speaking on a point of order, Federal Minister Javed Latif said it was unfortunate that PTI was using the resources of the two provinces (Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for its protests.

He expressed his surprise over Mr Khan’s statements in which he had hurled allegations on some people in the establishment, questioning as to why no action was being taken against the PTI leader despite his continued tirade against the state institutions.

Mr Latif, who had not been allocated any portfolio and had been addressing news conferences against the PTI almost on a daily basis, said Mr Khan had claimed that he was getting information from people within an institution.

“Are these two or three people so powerful that no action can be taken against them?” asked the minister while lamenting over “irresponsible” statements of the PTI leadership regarding the Wazirabad firing incident.

Later, the speaker adjourned the sitting till Friday morning (today).

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2022