ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reacted to Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict on Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) appeal, declaring Imran Khan-founded PTI eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, ARY News reported on Friday.
ECP insiders told ARY News that the election commission never stated PTI is not a political party and is listed as such on its website.
Referring to top court’s verdict, the commission said it has not misinterpreted any decision, noting that the bat symbol was taken away after PTI’s intra-party elections were not recognised.
The election watchdog further said that the individuals who were declared PTI MNAs did not disclose their party affiliation in the required documents, adding that having a party ticket and declaration is essential to become a party candidate.
However, it was not possible for the Returning Officers (ROs) to declare the individuals as PTI candidates, sources quoting ECP officials said. It has also emphasised that giving specific seats to PTI is “beyond their understanding”.
Furthermore, the ECP has stated that the 41 candidates who were given independent status did not submit any party affiliations, and therefore, could not be considered as party candidates. The commission has also clarified that these independent candidates did not submit any party tickets or declarations.
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.
 verdict on SIC's appeal, declaring PTI eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities.){kind=link}