ISLAMABAD, Mar 04 (APP): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday rejected the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea for allocation of minority and women reserve seats in the National and provincial assemblies.
A five-member ECP bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, firmly stated that the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) is not entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities.
After winning elections, independent lawmakers supported by PTI joined SIC. SIC then requested ECP to allocate seats based on PTI-backed candidates. This plea, conveyed by SIC Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza through a PTI representative, was submitted to ECP.
With a 4-1 ratio decision, Member Punjab Babar Hasan Bharwana dissented in a note. The Election Commission declared that the Sunni Ittehad Council is not entitled to special seat allocations for women and minorities.
Referring to Article 51(6) of the Constitution, the election commission stated that reserved seats would be distributed to political parties based on their participation and success in general elections through a “proportional representation system.”
“The seats in the National Assembly will not be left vacant and will be allocated through a proportional representation process based on the seats won by political parties,” stated the order.
It was mentioned that the percentage share of each political party would be calculated based on the total number of general seats in the National Assembly and the provincial assembly. “The same formula applies to the reserved seats for non-Muslims.”
There are several reserved seats for women: 60 in the National Assembly, and 66, 29, 26, and 11 in the provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, respectively. Similarly, there are 10 reserved seats for minorities in the National Assembly, as well as eight, nine, and three reserved seats for minorities in the provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan, respectively.
Sunni Itthead Council, in its letter, stated that 86 independent candidates of the National Assembly had joined his party, adding that 107 independents of Punjab Assembly, 90 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and nine independent members of Sindh Assembly now garnered the support of the SIC.
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