Finally, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged on Friday as the largest party on Friday, with the party and its allies at the same time securing a two-third majority in the National Assembly, after the Supreme Court allocated reserved seats to the ruling coalition.

The current parliamentary as well as the political equation in the country changed after the supreme court rejected Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI)-Vended Sunni-Iityhad Council (SIC )’s request for awarding the reserved seats after hearing a review.

On July 12, 2024, the Supreme Court had declared PTI to a parliamentary party and determined that PTI was entitled to get reserved seats that previously distributed among other parties in the national and other assemblies of the Pakistan Election Commission. However, the SC decision in the petitions has now turned the same.

Currently, the total number of seats in the ruling alliance is 237, including 125 of PML-N, 74 by PPPP, 22 of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), five of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Four of Istlehkam-E-Pakistan (IPP) (PML-Q), four in Istlehkam-Pakistan Party (IPP), one of Balochistan Party (BAP), National Party (NP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia PML-Z) and four independent.

On the contrary, the opposition alliance has a total of 99 seats, including 80 of SIC & Independents Primer PTI-11 from Jamiat-E-Ulmae-E-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) and one of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP) and Majlis Waadat-E-E-MUSE (MWM).

Following the results of the Senate elections in April 2024, the PMLN-led decision alliance has a dominant position in Parliament’s top house with 61 seats, including independent, as opposed to opposition parties 24 seats.

The majority of the coalition government has put it in a commanding position in both the National Assembly and the Senate, which it can now even go to constitutional changes without having any obstacle from the opposition parties in both houses. In order for any government to achieve a two-third majority in the 336 members National Assembly, support from 224 legislators is required.

Earlier, when the government had come to adopt the 26th constitutional amendment, it had managed to gain the support of an opposition party Jui-F. Now, the ruling alliance does not need support from opposition benches to adopt any constitutional amendment that requires two -thirds votes from parliament.

The reserved seats had also led to a face-off between parliament and the Supreme Court as speaking National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, had written a letter to ECP and urged it to respect parliamentary sovereignty in the award of reserved seats to PTI.

The letter had come after SC had given up that independent candidates, after winning elections, could join political parties and change their political allegiance followed by a note released by eight SC judges instructing the ECP to implement the judgment at the earliest.

Through his letter, the speaker had pointed out that Parliament passed an amendment to the Electoral Act and said it banned independent candidates who endorse a party after the election to change their affiliation.

He had emphasized the amendments to the Electoral Act must be applied when the ECP assigns disputed seats, and emphasized that the SC judgment was handed down before the new law was passed and thus became obsolete in the light of the legislative changes.