NA Speaker approached ECP on reserved seats issue: Atta Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Atta Tarar said that National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq upheld the supremacy of the parliament by writing a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the reserved seats case.

Addressing a presser, the information minister paid tribute to the speaker and said that it must not be misconstrued.

“There are specific questions over the Supreme Court’s verdict about the reserved seats, which need to be duly considered and redressed,” the minister said while talking to the media.

Terming the Speaker’s letter a ‘milestone in the parliamentary history’, he said it was articulated unequivocally in the Constitution that “the Parliament is supreme and has the sole jurisdiction to enact and amend laws”.

Earlier, the Speaker National Assembly asked the Election Commission of Pakistan not to allocate reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), maintaining that the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling is now “incapable of implementation” after the amendments to Election Act 2017

In a letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that the SC judgment was rendered based on the law before the enactment of the amendment in the Election Act 2017.

“In effect, the SC judgment has allowed a returned candidate to switch political parties,” the NA speaker said in a letter adding that the ruling cannot be implemented after the amendments to the Elections Act 2017 .

“In view of this backdrop, it is stated that independent returned candidates who have already given a joining to a political party cannot be allowed to switch parties in terms of the Amended Election Act which has a paramount and overriding effect,” the NA speaker said.

NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq maintained the amendment in the Elections Act 2017 reads that the declaration, consent or affidavit, by whatever name called, of an independent returned candidate once given for joining a political party shall be irrevocable and cannot be substituted or withdrawn.

“The said judgment is now incapable of implementation,” he added.

SC verdict

A 13-member bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled that the PTI is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict, setting aside the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order wherein it had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision denying the reserved seats to the SIC.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Ameenuddin Khan opposed the majority decision.

Reserved seats issue

The reserved seats issue came to limelight after over 80 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed independent candidates emerged victorious in the February 8 elections.

The SIC then approached the ECP on February 21 seeking allocation of reserved seats.

However, the PTI suffered a setback after the electoral body, citing the party’s failure to submit its list of candidates, denied allocating the reserved seats to the SIC via its 4-1 majority verdict on March 4.

The election commission distributed the reserved seats for women and minorities among other political parties.

Read more: PTI ‘committed suicide’ by joining SIC, says CJP Isa

The PTI-backed SIC had approached the court after the ECP refused to allocate the reserved seats due to the party’s failure to submit its list of candidates before the deadline. The Peshawar High Court (PHC) upheld the ECP’s decision, leading the SIC to appeal to the Supreme Court.

In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly – according to a notification, the ECP allocated one reserved seat each to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

In Sindh Assembly – allocated reserved seat for women to Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and PPP. PPP’s Samita Afzal and MQM-P’s Fouzia Hameed elected on reserved seats.

Furthermore, PPP’s Sadhu Mal alias Surinder Valasai secured minority seat in Sindh Assembly.

The ECP allocated three reserved seats for minorities to PML-N, PPP and JUI-F – which were claimed by Sunni Ittehad Council. PML-N’s Neelam Meghwar, PPP’s Ramesh Kumar and JUI-F’s James Iqbal were elected on the minority seats.

Subsequently, the PHC ruling allowed the ruling coalition, comprising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and other allies, to gain a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. This decision increased the PML-N’s seats to 123 and the PPP’s to 73, while the SIC held 82 seats.