The National Assembly of Pakistan passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2022 on Thursday, which seeks to remove the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in general elections as well as disallows overseas Pakistanis from voting.

       Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi presented the bill that was passed with a majority vote.

       Before presenting the bill, Abbasi presented a motion for allowing the bill to be sent directly to the Senate for its approval, bypassing the relevant standing committee. The motion was also passed by the NA with a majority vote.

       The bill is expected to be sent to the Senate tomorrow.

       Debate on election bill

       Speaking about the legislation, Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said it was of immense significance.

       He recalled the previous PTI government had made several amendments to the Election Act, 2017, including those the allowed the use of EVMs and granted overseas Pakistanis the right to vote in general elections.

       The law minister added that the Election Commission of Pakistan had also raised objections to the use of EVMs.

       The PTI government had bulldozed the bill through the NA on November 17, 2021 along with 33 other legislations amid fervent protest by the then-opposition.

       Tarar said today that the bill was passed with a slim margin of votes and that the then-opposition had held multiple meetings to discuss it.

       Earlier, Opposition Leader in the Nation Assembly Raja Riaz said electronic voting would not be successful in certain parts of the country. "Some areas are still without internet facilities," he said.

       GDA lawmaker Ghous Bakhsh Mehr, on the other hand, said that EVMs were being used across the world and Pakistan should at least try using them. "If not the whole country, then use them in some areas," he said.

       Jamaat-i-Islami's Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali said that the party had opposed the bill during the previous government's tenure. He added that the opinion of the ECP as well as of political parties should be sought with regards to the bill.

       "This bill does not mention the powers of the ECP. It would have been better if the commission was further empowered," he said, reiterating that party heads should be summoned to give their opinion on the bill.

       More to follow