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Islamabad: The Election Commission in Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday awarded the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) an additional reserved seat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly while rejecting similar petitions from two other parties.
The decision, which is detailed in a 15-page judgment issued by a five-member bench led by the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, followed directives from Peshawar High Court to visit the allocation of reserved seats.
The ruling brings PML-n’s general seat in KP in line with Jamat Disadvanta-E-Islam-Fazl (Jui-F), thereby giving the party to a more reserved seat.
The order stated: “… Recalculation of quota for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims on a delayed scene after the award of reserved seats to the political parties was not supported by the Constitution and the law.
ECP accepted PMLN’s plea for independent candidate Malik Tariq Awan, who took up the party within three days of the electoral announcement in accordance with constitutional requirements. However, the similar claims from PTI-P rejected.
With regard to the APP’s request for an additional seat, the Commission noted: “Results of urban selection cannot be included as it is not the spirit of the Constitution … In the event that this petition is accepted, it will be endless processes that will result in recalculation/ fluctuation of seats from time to time.”
On Monday, the ECP reserved its judgment on petitions filed by PML-N, JUI-F and others on the allocation of reserved seats in the KP assembly.
A four-member bench of ECP, led by the Chief Election Commissioner Raja, reserved for the decision after hearing arguments from all parties affected.
During the hearing, lawyers from PML-N, JUI-F and other parties appeared to the election body.
On July 8, PHC ECP’s notification of the distribution of reserved seats to women and minorities in the KP canceled. The court’s two-page judgment came on a petition filed by PMLN who challenged the award.
The court had ordered the ECP to redistribute the seats after hearing all relevant parties within 10 days. The court also stopped the oath that took legislators on these reserved seats until the ECP’s final decision.
In a speech with the media outside the ECP office in Islamabad, JUI-F leader and lawyer Kamran Murtaza said that all political parties presented their arguments to the Commission during today’s consultation.
He said PML-N demanded to get a larger proportion of reserved seats, especially after the inclusion of independent candidate Tariq Awan in their ranks.
