LHC grants time to ECP over nominations on Punjab reserved seats

LAHORE: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday submitted reply in Lahore High Court (LHC) with regard to notifying the PTI members on five vacated reserved seats, ARY News reported.

Five reserved seats in Punjab Assembly were vacated following the de-seating of the PTI lawmakers for voting in favour of Hamza Shahbaz Sharif during the chief minister Punjab’s election.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had filed a petition in the LHC over nominating new members on the vacant reserved seats of the Punjab Assembly.

The election commission in its reply said that other political parties have also submitted applications in the ECP and notices have been issued to the parties. “The matter will be decided after hearing the stance of various political parties,” the ECP said in its reply to the court.

The election commission pleaded to the court for some time to decide the matter.

Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti granted the ECP request.

The PTI petition filed in the court by Sibtain Khan and others had pleaded to the court that the election commission not notifying the names of new members on the vacant reserved seats.

The bench had served notices to the ECP after PTI counsel said that they had provided names of the candidates to be notified on reserved seats.

The petition filed through Advocate Azhar Siddique pleaded that the ECP had de-seated five members on reserved seats over changing their loyalties and the commission is now constitutionally bound to notify other members of the party.