ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday finally decided to implement the Supreme Court decision on PTI’s reserved seats for women and minorities, but an official hin­ted that it was in “no hurry” to do so.

Instructions have been issued to the ECP’s legal team to identify obstacles in the way of implementation of the judgement so that further guidance could be sought from the top court, a statement issued by the ECP’s media wing said at the conclusion of two-day deliberations.

Asked as to why notifications of 39 PTI MNAs who had mentioned party affiliation had been issued, a senior ECP official said: “The Commission still has time for it.” He then indicated that the notifications of all the 80 MNAs would be issued in one go. Of the 41 MNAs asked to submit affidavits, around 37 did it, most of them collectively on a single document along with a certificate of the party, he said.

However, he said, PTI’s legal status was still questionable as its intra-party elections had been found to be flawed by the Comm­ission, and the ECP’s decision had been upheld by the apex court.

Official says commission in ‘no hurry’; notices sent to PTI in party polls matter

According to the ECP statement released on Fri­day, the meeting condemned the constant unnecessary criticism of Chief Election Commissioner and members of the commission by a political party. It termed the demand for CEC’s resignation ‘ridiculous’.

“The commission will not succumb to any kind of pressure and will continue to work according to the constitution and law,” it said. The forum made it clear that the ECP “did not misinterpret any decision”. It said it did not find PTI’s elections to be correct against which PTI went to various forums and the ECP decision was upheld as its intra-party elections were not valid.

“And, as logical consequence, the ‘Bat’ symbol was withdrawn under Section 215 of the Elections Act,” it said, and noted that blaming the ECP was inappropriate.

The meeting noted that 39 MNAs who had been declared as PTI lawmakers had mentioned their affiliation with the party in their nomination papers, whereas it was necessary for the candidates to submit a party ticket and declaration to the returning officer concerned, which was not done and it was not possible for the returning officers to declare them a PTI candidate in such situation. “The 41 candidates who have been declared independent had neither mentioned PTI in their nomination papers nor disclosed their affiliation with the party. And also did not submit any party ticket. Therefore, the returning officers allowed them to participate in the election as independent candidates,” the ECP explained.

The MNAs after winning the election voluntarily joined the Sunni Ittehad Council within three days under the law, it stated. In the Supreme Court, the SIC appealed against the decision of the ECP and the Peshawar High Court, it noted, pointing out that the appeal was rejected.

However, it added, “PTI was neither a party in the Elec­tion Commission nor bef­ore the Peshawar High Court or the Supreme Court.”

Also, Senator Irfan Siddiqui of the ruling PML-N said the apex court’s decision allocating res­erved seats to the PTI was a blatant violation of the Constitution and the law. “The decision has trampled constitution,” he said during a discussion on a TV show.

After “creating a crisis, ambiguity, and confusion” in the country, two judges of the court went on “recreational tours”, he alleged.

Referring to Khawaja Asif’s remarks about a “constitutional meltdown”, Sen­a­tor Siddiqui said they were based on his political experience [and] analysis. The remarks should not be considered “news”. When courts or institutions allegedly exceeded their predetermined boundaries, the country plunged into crises, he said.

He was of the opinion that it could be called a “constitutional meltdown” as the recent SC decision had no place in the Constitution.

Recalling the electoral reforms, he said the parliamentary committee, which included PTI, had held 118 meetings and Parliament passed with PTI’s consent, the Elections Act, 2017 according to which an independent member must join a party of their choice within three days after taking the oath of the assembly. PTI-backed independent members joined the SIC after submitting affidavits of their choice, he said. “Constitutionally and legally, this exercise (of joining party) was over,” he said.

However, the senator alleged, the Supreme Court ruled against the law and the constitution by allowing those members to join the PTI. “Any addition or alteration is like rewriting the constitution. If the constitution and the law gave members three days, from where this 15-day timeline has come in the SC decision?” he said.

In response to a question, he said that a review hearing could not take place without a detailed judgement.

Intra-party elections

Meanwhile, the ECP will take up for hearing the PTI’s intra-party election case on July 23.

Sources told Dawn that notices had been issued to PTI chairman Barrister Gohar and party spokesperson Raoof Hasan.

Observers believe the case is directly linked to the matter of the allocation of reserved seats and a final decision in the matter may allow the party to reclaim its ‘bat’ symbol.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2024