SC rejects ECP’s plea as ‘delaying tactic', reaffirms PTI’s right to reserved seats

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has disposed of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) petition seeking clarification on the court’s July 13 decision, which granted more parliamentary seats to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

In its decision, the eight-member SC bench stated that the request “obstructs” the implementation of its judicial decision.

The eight-member bench, led by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justices Athar Minallah, Ayesha Malik, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Shahid Waheed, and Irfan Saadat Khan, reiterated that there was no ambiguity in the original ruling.

The bench also warned the ECP that non-implementation of its judgment on reserved seats would result in serious consequences.

According to the bench, the short order issued on July 12 was clear, and the Election Commission had unnecessarily complicated its interpretation.

"The judgment leaves no room for confusion, and any attempt to obscure the matter is rejected outright," read the court’s explanatory statement. The statement further emphasized that failure to comply with the court’s ruling would carry "serious consequences."

In a strongly worded statement, the court directed the Election Commissioner to immediately implement the decision.

The bench rejected attempts by the ECP to delay or seek further clarification, stating that the deprivation of an election symbol does not strip a political party of its rights. PTI, it reaffirmed, remains a registered political entity and holds seats in both the national and provincial assemblies.

The court’s explanation underscored that the ECP’s recognition of Barrister Gauhar as PTI’s Chairman is final, and any attempt to alter this recognition would be considered obstruction of justice.

 "The Election Commission must act without delay.

Asking for further explanation is tantamount to obstructing the court’s decision," the judges stated, clarifying that PTI’s status as a political party remains intact.

The court reiterated that the ECP cannot change its position under the “guise” of seeking clarification.

In July, a full-court bench of the Supreme Court set aside orders of the Peshawar High Court and ECP taking away reserved seats from the Sunni Ittehad Council. The court ruled that the PTI should be considered a political party and given reserved seats.

 It is pertinent that members of Imran Khan’s political party, the PTI, were forced to run as independent candidates in the February general elections after the SC ruled that the party’s internal elections were flawed.

As a result, the PTI candidates were not allowed to use the party’s cricket bat symbol during the campaign.

Despite running as independents, the PTI-backed candidates won the most seats in the National Assembly. To secure the reserved seats, they joined the religiopolitical party, the SIC.

The reserved seats are allocated to different political parties in proportion to the number of general seats each party wins during elections. This is done to promote greater political representation and inclusion of these traditionally underrepresented groups in the government.

The ECP decided not to allocate the reserved seats to them on “technical grounds” and distributed the SIC’s share among other parties.

The outcome of the case can be politically significant, there are possibilities that it may impact the National Assembly composition. Khan’s party is hopeful of winning 78 reserved seats in Parliament given to the rival parties in elections.

In a letter to the apex court, the country’s top electoral authority reiterated that the SIC was ineligible for the reserved seats and there was “no flaw” in the ECP’s and PHC’s decisions as it was “under the Constitution and law.”

The ECP noted that non-Muslims cannot be SIC members under the party’s constitution.