ECP to decide on SIC reserved NA seats today

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday convened an important meeting to decide on the reserved National Assembly seats of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) today, ARY news reported citing sources.

According to sources, the meeting will overview the Sunni Ittehad Council’s petition for the reserved NA seats and will allot the quota of the reserved seats to political parties today.

If the petition submitted by the Sunni Ittehad Council is approved, they will be allocated reserved seats in the National Assembly at a ratio of 4.5. However, if the petition is not approved, the remaining political parties will receive the reserved seats at a ratio of 3, sources added.

Earlier, the Sunni Ittehad Council filed a petition with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for reserved seats.

PTI leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan announced that party-backed independent candidates — who emerged victorious in the Centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the 2024 general elections — would join Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) as part of their parliamentary strategy.

The candidate’s national and provincial assembly lawmakers have started submitting affidavits, officially announcing their affiliation with Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in line with the party’s decision.

The PTI-backed Independent candidates consolidated their lead in the general elections 2024 over mainstream political parties, especially in the National and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies, throughout the result announcement process.

According to the results announced so far, independent candidates have managed to win 101 seats. It is worth mentioning that out of these 101 independent candidates, 92 are supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf while nine are general independent candidates.

PML-N is in the second position with 75 seats, while the PPP has won 54 seats. The MQM-P won in 17 constituencies, JUI-F in four, and PML-Q in three, while IPP and BNP won two seats each.