The ruling coalition received its majority of two thirds in the National Assembly on Wednesday with the Electoral Commission of Pakistan (ECP) distributing the seats reserved to the PML-N, PPP and the opposition Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) after the Aideos of the Supreme Court.
Last week, the Constitutional Bank revoked the previous sentence of the Supreme Court in the case of reserved seats, effectively eliminating the reserved seats of the PTI and giving them their rival matches in the national and provincial legislatures. The decision, issued by the majority of the seven judges, replaces the majority sentence of July 12, 2024 by eight judges, who had declared the eligible PTI for seats reserved for women and non -Muslims in the assemblies.
The decision of the Constitutional Bank effectively meant that the PTI was no longer a parliamentary party.
Acting on the court’s verdict, the ECP issued an order today that withdrew its notifications of July 24 and 29 of last year that they had declared candidates returned against the general seats of the National Assembly and the Assemblies of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as returned candidates of the PTI.
In another order today, the ECP notified the names of the candidates returned in several categories of seats reserved with immediate effect, distributing 13 seats to the PML-N in the National Assembly, four to the PPP and two to the Jui-F opposition.
After this process, the ruling coalition achieves a two -thirds majority; In a 336 house, the magic number required to reach a two -thirds majority is 224. The ruling coalition now has 233 seats.
The ECP also distributed reserved seats in the provincial assemblies. In the KP Assembly, 10 seats were delivered to the JUI-F, seven to the PML-N, six to the PPP and one to the Parci-Parliamentarians and the National Awami Party.
The PML-N received 23 seats in the Punjab Assembly, two for the PPP and one for the folla of the Pakistan Muslim League and the Itemhkam–Pakistan party.
In the Sindh Assembly, two seats were delivered to the PPP and one to the Muttahida Qaumi-Pakistan movement.
Reserved seat box
Through its order of March 25, 2024, the Superior Court of Peshawar (PHC) had deprived the Sunita Ittehad Council, the party attached by independents backed by PTI after the surveys of February 8, 2024, of reserved seats.
On the date of the first hearing of this case, Judges Ayesha A. Malik and Aqed Ahmed Abbasi had directly rejected the review requests presented by PML-N, ECP and PPP.
Subsequently, their names were excluded from the force of the Constitutional Bank, although they were considered part of the bank.
Meanwhile, Judge Jamal Khan Commandkhail had partly allowed the review requests and maintained his original order to give 39 seats to PTI, but reviewed the majority trial to the extent of 41 seats.
In his dissident order of July 12, Judge Commandkhail had declared PTI a parliamentary party consisting of 39 members and, therefore, is entitled to reserved seats. Therefore, the ECP must recalculate and reassign the seats reserved between the political parties, including PTI, said.
The majority judgment of July 12 had asked the rest of the 41 independent candidates to submit signed and noticed statements before the commission within 15 days, explaining that they challenged the general elections of February 8 as a candidate of a particular political party. Consequently, the ECP had notified them as members of PTI, in the light of the trial.
Judge Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Judge Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, who was part of the previous majority sentence, also reviewed their positions and allowed review requests.
However, they applied that, since the controversy in question could not be resolved, or by the PHC or the Supreme Court, the ECP must examine and consider the documents/declaration of nomination and other relevant documents of the 80 returned candidates, with respect to their affiliation, and make a decision on the allocation of seating reserved within 15 days of receiving a copy of its short order.
