SHC orders to not count reserved seats' votes in presidential election

KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday ordered to not count the votes of three reserved seats in the presidential election, ARY News reported. 

As per details, the court issued a short verdict on Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea for reserved seats.

The court order stated that vote of reserved seats must not be counted in the presidential election till the court decides the verdict on these three reserved seats.

Moreover, notices were issued on Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and others for March 28.

Earlier, Peshawar High Court (PHC) ordered the Speaker, to restrain him from administering oath to members elected on reserved seats.

Later, the court extended the order till March 13 and notices were also issued to all political parties.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notified allocation of reserved seats for women and minorities, which were claimed by PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), to other political parties.

Following the allocation of reserved seats, PML-N becomes the largest parliamentary party in National Assembly (NA) with 123 seats followed by PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) with 82 seats. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto-led PPP managed to secure 73 seats.

Read more: PHC grants SIC plea, restrains oath taking on reserved seats

The ECP issued a notifications for reserved seats for women in the Sindh Assembly. Notably, PPP’s Sumeta Afzal Syed and MQM-P’s Fouzia Hameed have been given the reserved seats for women. The reserved seat for minorities in Sindh Assembly has been given to PPP’s Sadhu Mal alias Surinder Valasai.

It is pertinent to mention here that the presidential election has been scheduled for March 09 (tomorrow).

Former president Asif Zardari is being backed by the PML-N-led eight-party coalition, while nationalist leader Mahmood Achakzai is the candidate of the PTI-Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) alliance.