The Election Act 2017, which paved the way for Nawaz Sharif to promptly be re-elected president of the ruling PML-N, was challenged in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

A petition, filed under Article 184/3 of the Constitution, states that the bill "is against the basic spirit of the Constitution".

"A party leader controls voting in the National Assembly, as Article 63A of the Constitution states that an MNA can be disqualified if he or she votes against the official party line," the petition argues.

Until the bill stands as law "a disqualified person will continue to control the basic business of the National Assembly", which can be dangerous for the country, the petitioner, Advocate Zulfiqar Bhutta, has argued.

He has urged the SC to declare the bill null and void and without legal effect.

The government on Monday had bulldozed an amended Election Bill 2017 through the Lower House of parliament despite strong protests from opposition lawmakers.

The bill, subsequently signed into law, features a controversial amendment that will allow politicians disqualified from holding public office to head a political party.

Opposition lawmakers had protested loudly against the bill's passage, seeing it as a law designed to accommodate a single individual — ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sharif was on Tuesday elected unopposed as PML-N president.

Opinion

Editorial

Ultimate price
Updated 02 Nov, 2024

Ultimate price

To dismantle culture of impunity for crimes against journalists, state must ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.
Mastung bombing
02 Nov, 2024

Mastung bombing

INSTABILITY continues to haunt Balochistan, as Friday morning’s bombing in Mastung has shown. At least nine...
Plane speak
02 Nov, 2024

Plane speak

DESPITE all its efforts to facilitate PIA’s privatisation, it seems the government only ended up being taken for a...
Seeking investment
Updated 01 Nov, 2024

Seeking investment

Foreign visits will be fruitless unless crucial structural, policy reforms directly affecting investors are focused.
State-backed terror
01 Nov, 2024

State-backed terror

OVER the past year or so, India’s reportedly malign activities in foreign countries have increasingly come under the radar, with
Shared crisis
01 Nov, 2024

Shared crisis

WITH Lahore experiencing unprecedented levels of smog, the Punjab government has announced a series of “green...