NEW DELHI: Imran Khan‘s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), has decided to approach the Supreme Court after the Sunni Ittehad Council‘s plea challenging the election commission’s decision to allocate reserved seats was rejected.
The Sunni Ittehad Council’s plea challenging the Election Commission’s decision to assign reserved seats in the national and provincial legislatures for it to other parties was dismissed by the Peshawar high court (PHC), dealing a blow to the PTI.
The PHC rejected two petitions filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council, supported by PTI lawmakers, seeking their share of reserved seats for women and minorities after the February 8 elections.
PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan, speaking outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail where the Imran Khan is serving sentence, stated that the party would appeal to the Supreme Court to secure its reserved seats. Gohar urged the Supreme Court to form a larger bench for the case.
The Sunni Ittehad Council had asked the court to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan to allocate the reserved seats based on their parliamentary strength. They also challenged Section 104 of the Elections Act which pertains to the mandatory submission of candidate priority lists for reserved seats.
In a recent development, the PHC had temporarily prevented the oath-taking of eight lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, elected on reserved seats. A special larger bench, comprising five senior judges, was formed to address the legal complexities of the matter.
The Election Commission of Pakistan stated that the Sunni Ittehad Council did not qualify for reserved seats due to legal deficiencies and non-compliance with submission requirements.
In the National Assembly, there are 70 reserved seats, and in the provincial assemblies, there are 156 seats allotted proportionally to winning parties. The distribution of reserved seats was based on party strength in the assemblies, excluding the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council.
Despite independent candidates supported by PTI winning a significant number of seats, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) formed a coalition government post-election, sidelining the PTI-backed Council.
(With inputs from Agencies)
The Sunni Ittehad Council’s plea challenging the Election Commission’s decision to assign reserved seats in the national and provincial legislatures for it to other parties was dismissed by the Peshawar high court (PHC), dealing a blow to the PTI.
The PHC rejected two petitions filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council, supported by PTI lawmakers, seeking their share of reserved seats for women and minorities after the February 8 elections.
PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan, speaking outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail where the Imran Khan is serving sentence, stated that the party would appeal to the Supreme Court to secure its reserved seats. Gohar urged the Supreme Court to form a larger bench for the case.
The Sunni Ittehad Council had asked the court to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan to allocate the reserved seats based on their parliamentary strength. They also challenged Section 104 of the Elections Act which pertains to the mandatory submission of candidate priority lists for reserved seats.
In a recent development, the PHC had temporarily prevented the oath-taking of eight lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, elected on reserved seats. A special larger bench, comprising five senior judges, was formed to address the legal complexities of the matter.
The Election Commission of Pakistan stated that the Sunni Ittehad Council did not qualify for reserved seats due to legal deficiencies and non-compliance with submission requirements.
In the National Assembly, there are 70 reserved seats, and in the provincial assemblies, there are 156 seats allotted proportionally to winning parties. The distribution of reserved seats was based on party strength in the assemblies, excluding the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council.
Despite independent candidates supported by PTI winning a significant number of seats, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) formed a coalition government post-election, sidelining the PTI-backed Council.
(With inputs from Agencies)