PHC declares KP reserved seats notification null and void

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has declared null and void two notifications issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding the allocation of reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

In a landmark judgement, a two-member bench headed by Justice Syed Arshad Ali issued a two-page written verdict, directing the election commission to reallocate the reserved seats in accordance with the proportional representation formula within 10 days.

The court further ruled that no oath should be administered to the newly elected members until the seat redistribution process is completed.

The decision came after the conclusion of arguments, upon which the judgement had been reserved.

Last week, the PHC had barred newly elected members on reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from taking oath.

A two-member bench, headed by Justice Syed Arshad Ali, had heard the petition challenging the proportional distribution of reserved seats. The court sought a detailed response from the ECP and ordered that the oath-taking of members on reserved seats be suspended until the next hearing on July 3.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that the ECP did not allocate the reserved seats in accordance with proportional representation. During the proceedings, Justice Arshad Ali questioned whether the party had submitted a list for the reserved seats, to which the lawyer responded that PTIP holds two general seats and is entitled to one reserved seat for women.

The judge noted that the PTI government was in power but did not secure these seats in this region. The petitioner’s lawyer clarified that PTI did not formally contest the election; rather, independent candidates were fielded.

On June 27, the Supreme Court had accepted the review petitions of the PTI and Sunni Ittehad Council in the reserved seats case and annulled its earlier decision issued on July 12.

The four-page short order came through a majority decision by a seven-member bench. With the acceptance of the review petitions, the judgement of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) in the case was upheld. The short order was signed by 10 judges.

The verdict practically deprived the PTI of the reserved seats in National and provincial assemblies, which have been divided among ruling parties, including the PPP, PML-N and others. After being allocated the additional reserved seats, the ruling government now enjoyed a comfortable two-thirds majority in parliament.

Supreme Court ruling restores 77 reserved seats

Following the decision, 77 reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies were restored. The verdict reinstated the Election Commission of Pakistan’s earlier decision to allocate these reserved seats to the ruling coalition, which now regains 22 seats in the National Assembly and 55 in the provincial assemblies.

National Assembly reserved seats:

• Women’s seats: 19
• Minority seats: 3

Provincial assembly reserved seats:

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly: 21 women, 4 minority seats
• Punjab Assembly: 24 women, 3 minority seats
• Sindh Assembly: 2 women, 1 minority seat

Punjab Assembly latest allocation:

Out of the 24 reserved seats for women and 3 for minorities:

• PML-N will receive 23 seats
• PPP will get 2 seats
• PML-Q and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) will each receive 1 seat

Sindh Assembly allocation:

Of the 3 reserved seats:

• PPP will get 2 seats
• MQM will get 1 seat

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly:

The distribution of 25 recently restored reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly:

• JUI-F, which previously held 2 reserved seats, will now receive 8 additional seats, increasing its total strength in the assembly to 17 members.
• PML-N, already holding 2 reserved seats, will be allotted 6 more, raising its tally to 13 members.
• PPP will gain 5 additional reserved seats on top of the 1 it already held, boosting its total to 10 members.
• ANP and PTI Parliamentarians (PTI-P) will receive 1 reserved seat each, bringing their total strength in the provincial assembly to 3 members each.