The Supreme Court clarified on Friday that recent changes to election laws cannot change its decision about reserved seats for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
On July 12, a large panel of judges ruled that PTI was entitled to reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies. This ruling was a significant setback for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition, potentially making PTI the largest party in Parliament.
The court also recognized PTI as a parliamentary party. It stated that 39 out of 80 members shown as PTI candidates by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) were indeed from the party. The remaining 41 independent candidates must provide signed statements proving they ran as PTI candidates in the February elections.
The ECP agreed to follow the Supreme Court’s ruling and sought guidance from the court to resolve any challenges to implementing it. However, last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the ECP’s request for clarification and insisted that its original directions must be followed immediately.
Additionally, a controversial bill to prevent PTI-backed independent candidates from joining the party was rushed through Parliament in August. The National Assembly Speaker had also informed the ECP that the judgment about reserved seats couldn’t be implemented due to the new amendments.
In response, the ECP sought further clarification from the Supreme Court regarding its ruling on PTI’s reserved seats, citing the amendments as a reason for their inability to comply.
The Supreme Court clarified that changes to the Elections Act after its ruling cannot affect the original decision. It stated that the ECP must implement the court’s judgment as it stands, without seeking more clarifications.
The court emphasized that its decision is binding under Article 189 of the Constitution, indicating that it must be followed.
Sources indicated that the ECP was set to decide on whether to grant reserved seats to PTI in light of the Supreme Court’s July ruling. A meeting was held to discuss the issue, and further discussions with legal experts are anticipated.
Analysts suggested that the ECP might choose to dismiss the Supreme Court’s ruling and restore the previous members from other parties who had been elected to the reserved seats.
