Parliament approves legal changes punishing lawmakers and judges
13 Mar 2018, 9:00 AM
Parliament on Tuesday approved controversial legal changes to punish lawmakers who defect and sack judges convicted of criminal offences.
The anti-defection bill, which penalises floor crossing, was passed with the votes of 36 MPs while an amendment bill to the Judges Act was passed with 38 votes. Both bills were proposed by the ruling party.
Only 39 out of the total 85 MPs were present for the sitting, which was boycotted by the opposition coalition.
The bills, proposed on March 5, were rushed through the parliamentary committee stage. The anti-defection bill is backdated to July 13 last year, when a Supreme Court ruling stripped a dozen opposition MPs of their seats.
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