The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed its decision on Wednesday on petitions regarding the assignment of reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), in which PTI-backed independents joined the party leadership decision after winning in their respective constituencies.
The PTI made the move after losing their electoral emblem in the lead-up to the February 8 elections. The electoral watchdog heard testimony from PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, lawyer Ali Zafar, and SIC Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza.
During the hearing, the ECP stated that the decision is still pending before the commission and that the notifications for the 10 reserved seats for women in the National Assembly and the 21 reserved seats for women in the KP Assembly have been put on hold.
PTI’s Lawyer Ali Zafar arguments
PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar argued: “Constitution of Pakistan stated that independent MNAs could join any political party and “it does not mean a parliamentary party. If SIC was denied its reserved seats, the elections for the Senate, office of prime minister, president, speaker and deputy speaker would be affected.”
