ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will emerge as the largest party in both houses of the Parliament- National Assembly and Senate- after securing its share of reserved seats in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict on Friday.
Led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a 13-member full bench overturned the Peshawar High Court’s decision that upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) rejection of PTI’s entitlement to reserved seats for women and minorities, deeming it unconstitutional and void.
PTI’s representation in the National Assembly is expected to increase from 86 to 109 seats after securing 23 reserved seats, according to Geo News. This development will also bolster the opposition alliance in the National Assembly to 120 members, aligning with the current total of 97 opposition members, including PTI.
Of PTI’s current 86 members in the lower house, 84 are aligned with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), while two are independent lawmakers—Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Omar Ayub Khan.
With PTI securing a majority in the lower house, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition, led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), will retain a simple majority with 209 members, including 108 from PML-N.
The court’s ruling marks a setback for Prime Minister Sharif’s coalition, prompting shifts in the composition of the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
The Supreme Court emphasized that disqualification from elections cannot result from the withdrawal of a party’s election symbol, affirming PTI’s legitimacy as a political entity.
The dispute over reserved seats arose from ECP’s rejection of PTI’s intra-party elections and its refusal to allow the party’s cricket bat symbol for electoral purposes, which hindered PTI from claiming reserved seats for women and minorities based on proportional representation.
To address this challenge, PTI directed its victorious independent candidates, backed by the party, to join SIC, thereby forming a parliamentary group to secure its share in the 70 reserved seats in the National Assembly and an additional 156 seats across four provincial assemblies.
While the court’s decision may not immediately alter the current power dynamics, the realignment in assembly numbers could influence legislative proceedings in the country.
The Supreme Court’s ruling also impacts other parties, stripping PML-N, PPP, MQM, and JUI-F of 77 reserved seats for women and minorities, suspended following a May 13 order, including 22 National Assembly seats and 55 seats across provincial assemblies.
In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, PTI is positioned to secure 25 out of 30 reserved seats for women and minorities, potentially enabling it to win 10 out of 11 Senate seats from the province after the senate elections. This would further cement PTI’s standing as the largest party in the upper house of Parliament.
The Election Commission of Pakistan postponed elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the Speaker declined to administer the oath to opposition-elected MPs controversially appointed to reserved seats.
In the Punjab Assembly, PTI is projected to secure 27 reserved seats—24 for women and 3 for minorities. Meanwhile, in the Sindh Assembly, PTI will receive 2 reserved seats for women and 1 for minorities.
