- KP Assembly passes amendment bill proposing elected council member would become ineligible if resigns from membership of his political party or abstains from voting in a council
Moved by Local Government Minister Inayat Ullah Khan, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday passed with majority the KP Local Government (Third Amendment) Bill, 2015, which incorporates Section 78A for “disqualification on ground defection”.
The bill said that if an elected member of the council resigns from membership of his political party or abstains from voting in a council, contrary to any directions issued by the political party, or is declared defected by the party, would become ineligible for the membership of the town/tehsil/district council.
It was however said that the party would inform the presiding officer about the defected candidate through a declaration and the same would be submitted to the chief election commissioner (CEC) for further action.
Upon the receipt of the declaration, the CEC would decide the confirmation of the ineligibility of the candidate for the seat of the council within 30 days.
The aggrieved candidate would have a right to appeal in the high court to decide the matter within 60 days from the date of filing the appeal.
Munawar Khan of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Nighat Orakzai of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) accused the treasury benches of presenting “any bill in the nick of time for passage”. This practice is against the parliamentary norms as the opposition members do not get to read the bill and give their suggestions, they added.
Speaking on the occasion, KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said that whenever a bill is tabled, every member had their right to give suggestions for incorporation. The treasury bench always “honour” and consider the suggestions of the opposition, he added.
Moreover, two more bills, moved by Law Minister Imtiaz Shahid Qureshi and Shahram Khan Tarakai respectively, were also tabled: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2015 and The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
Later on, KP Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the session till Thursday.
