Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has made a significant decision to challenge the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) ruling in the Supreme Court regarding the denial of reserved seats for women and minorities to the Sunni Ittehad Council in the National Assembly. The Sunni Ittehad Council, supported by PTI, had sought these seats through an application that sparked controversy and led to extensive deliberations by the electoral body.
A five-member bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, reached a 4-1 decision, stating that the Sunni Ittehad Council does not qualify for reserved seats in the National Assembly. The ECP clarified that these seats would be allocated to other political parties based on their proportional representation to ensure that reserved seats in the assemblies are not left vacant.
In response to the verdict, PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar expressed strong disapproval, labeling the ECP’s decision as an affront to democracy. He highlighted constitutional provisions indicating that political parties should be allocated reserve seats based on their electoral performance and criticized the ECP’s ruling as detrimental to democratic processes.