In the midst of ongoing political uncertainty caused by the February 8 vote results, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ruled on Tuesday that political parties without electoral insignia will not be allocated reserved seats in the National Assembly.
The electoral watchdog’s statement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-sponsored candidates have emerged as the largest group, winning more than 90 National Assembly seats, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which have 75 and 54 seats, respectively.
In its statement, the ECP has stated that the reserved seats, of which there are a total of 70 designated to women and minorities, will be allotted on the basis of the Election Act 2017 and that they will be dispersed throughout the political parties.
The development is expected to have serious consequences for the PTI, whose candidates had to run in an independent capacity after the party lost its “bat” electoral symbol due to irregularities in intra-party ballots.
With no political party able to secure a simple majority, the field is now open for the PTI, PML-N, and PPP to form alliances to secure the necessary numbers to form a government at the Centre, which requires a minimum of 169 seats in the National Assembly, the 336-member lower house of parliament.
