Attempts being made to ‘control’ 2023 electoral process: Fazl

Fazl terms Nov 17 ‘black day in parliament’ due to passage of electoral reforms bill

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday said attempts were being made to “control” the electoral process of the country before the 2023 general elections.

Addressing an Ulema convention here, Fazl termed July 25, 2018, as a "black day" when the general elections were rigged in the country.

"Yesterday was also a black day in parliament," Fazl, who also heads the anti-government PDM alliance, said.

He added that the country was "no one's property" and would be run with the "will of the people and the Constitution".

The government and its allies on Wednesday pulled off a victory against the opposition during a joint sitting of parliament by succeeding in passing the bills that pave the way for holding the next general elections in the country through the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and giving around nine million overseas Pakistanis the right to cast their votes in the 2023 polls.

Read: Legislation bonanza

Surprisingly, the legislation pertaining to the electoral reforms – The Election (Amendment) Bill, 2021 – was deferred and only the bills related to using the EVMs and enabling overseas Pakistanis to cast votes were passed.

In total, 33 bills were passed in the joint sitting.

Apart from the main agenda, five bills were passed through the supplementary one.

Given the political volatility, the passing of over two dozen bills through a majority vote shows the confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan by the treasury benches when the lawmakers from the National Assembly and Senate sat together for the joint sitting.