ECP asks Supreme Court for clarity on reserved seats order once again

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) once again approached the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday seeking clarification on its order to grant reserved seats to the PTI.
On July 12, the SC declared Imran Khan’s PTI eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities. However, in light of the Amended Election Act, 2017, the ECP remained unclear on implementing the SC’s order, requesting clarification from the apex court.
However, the SC rebuked the “misconceived” request from the Commission, ordering the immediate implementation of its original directions.
On Monday (September 23), the court released its detailed verdict of the July 12 order in the reserved seats case, which had declared the PTI a parliamentary party. Eight judges had ruled that out of a list of 80 MNAs, 39 belonged to the PTI, and granted 41 others the chance to resubmit their party affiliation.
However, the ECP appeared to be in no hurry to implement the verdict, as it held another meeting on Tuesday to carefully examine the detailed judgement, saying that it found it in contradiction to the law.
Tuesday’s meeting, like the previous nearly half a dozen such confabs, remained inconclusive and the commission decided to meet again on Wednesday and decided to approach the SC once again to clarify the matter.
According to a petition filed by the ECP on Wednesday — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — the Commission reiterated that the Amended Election Act, 2017 was passed on August 7, whereas the SC made its initial ruling in July.
“[The] Elections (Second) Amendment Act, 2024 stood promulgated and currently exists as the law of the land,” the petition argued.
“[The] Commission finds itself in a precarious situation in as much as if it discharges the obligation forthwith, as per the order dated 14-09-2024, then it nullifies the law enacted by the Parliament and vice-versa,” the petition added.
Additionally, the ECP argued that National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq’s letter also “nullifies” the apex court’s July 12 ruling. Sadiq had mentioned the Amended Election Act in his letter, addressed to the ECP.
Furthermore, the ECP stated it implemented the SC’s July order “by notifying the 39 candidates”, but highlighted that there was no “valid organisational structure of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf”.
Thus, the ECP once again requested clarification from the apex court on how to apply the ruling.
With regards to 41 of the returned candidates, the ECP argued it could not implement the SC’s orders due to the amendments to the election act.
The Commission requested that it “be guided with respect to the effect of the Elections (Second) Amendment Act, 2024 on the Short Order (Majority) dated 12-07-2024, Clarification Order (Majority) dated 14-09-2024 and Detailed Judgment (Majority) dated 23-09-2024, in the interests of justice,” the petition concluded.
Meanwhile, PTI leaders and legal experts have expressed concern that the ECP was not maintaining impartiality in this process.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had said on Monday that despite a clear ruling from the top court, the ECP had not issued a notification confirming the PTI’s reserved seats.
“They have had four meetings now, yet they still have not notified us,” he said. “We demand that the ECP notify our reserved seats as soon as possible.”
“The Supreme Court said that the Election Commission cannot take such a decision against any party,” Gohar added, stating that 40 of the 41 PTI candidates submitted affidavits to the Commission.
Barrister Rida Hosain, speaking to Dawn.com characterised the court’s majority judgment as a “charge sheet against the ECP,” condemning its conduct during the February 8 elections.
“According to the judgement, the ECP’s actions failed to meet its constitutional obligations, casting serious doubts over the fairness of the entire electoral process,” she said.