Islamabad, Jan 21 (ABC): The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the Elections Amendment Bill, 2026, seeking to allow limited secrecy of parliamentarians’ statements of assets and liabilities under specific security-related circumstances.
The proposed legislation amends Section 138 of the Elections Act by inserting a proviso that empowers the speaker of the relevant assembly or, in the case of the upper house, the chairman of the Senate of Pakistan to withhold public disclosure of a member’s asset details.
Under the amendment, the speaker or chairman may issue a ruling in the chamber determining that the statement of assets and liabilities of a member should not be published by the Election Commission of Pakistan if such publication poses a serious threat to the life or safety of the member or their family.
The bill states that any such restriction on publication will be time-bound and may not exceed one year at a time. It also makes clear that the concerned parliamentarian will still be required to submit a complete and true statement of assets and liabilities confidentially to the Election Commission.
According to the proposed amendment, the provision is intended to address security concerns while maintaining the requirement for mandatory asset declarations under the law.
The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration. If approved by the upper house, it will require assent from the president before becoming law.