Parliament passes bill on EVMs, right of vote to expats

ISLAMABAD: Amid opposition uproar, the Joint Sitting of the Parliament on Wednesday passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021 with majority votes by rejecting all amendments proposed by the opposition benches. Advisor the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Zaheer-un-Din Babar Awan piloted the bill in the House and the motion to consider the bill was passed with majority vote. A total of 221 lawmakers voted in favor of the motion while 203 lawmakers opposed it. Later, the Parliament passed the legislative proposal which pertains to fair, free and transparent election through utilization of technology and modern gadgets. The bill is also aimed at granting voting rights to the Overseas Pakistanis which may only be possible by vesting exclusive authority in ECP with technical assistance of NADRA and other agencies. It also asks to procure electronic voting machines (EVMs) for casting of votes in general elections. Amendments were sought in section 94 and 103 of the Election Act, 2017 to achieve the aforesaid objectives. Majlis-e-Shoora passed the amendments moved by Advisor to Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Babar Awan while the amendments moved by MNA Mohsin Dawar, Senator Taj Haider and Senator Mushtaq Ahmed. Ahead of today’s joint session of Parliament, PM Imran Khan said that every player tries to do better than their opponent. Talking to journalists at Parliament House, PM Imran Khan said that when a player walks out to the field, he is ready for everything. Referring to the prime minister’s marathon huddles before the joint session, when a journalist asked a question about the reason behind the meetings and whether he was worried, PM Imran replied, “Who is holding meetings?”.