The Election Commission of Pakistan has contradicted the Supreme Court’s decision regarding reserved seats.
Despite the Election Commission’s announcement to adhere to the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the matter, their press release effectively contradicts the court’s ruling.
The Supreme Court had stated during the hearing and in its decision that the Election Commission of Pakistan had misinterpreted the Supreme Court’s decision of January 13, 2024, regarding PTI’s intra-party elections, mistakenly declaring PTI candidates as independent.
After two days of deliberation, the Election Commission released a statement asserting that it had not misinterpreted any decisions and that it did not validate PTI’s intra-party elections.
As a result, PTI’s election symbol (the bat) was withdrawn due to the invalidity of PTI’s intra-party elections.
Thus, allegations against the Election Commission are deemed inappropriate.
The Election Commission’s press release did not reference paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Supreme Court’s majority decision but clarified that PTI’s intra-party elections were not correct, and PTI had not been a party to the appeals filed by Sunni Ittehad Council against the Election Commission and the Peshawar High Court’s decisions.
Here are paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Supreme Court’s decision:
Paragraph 7: In the specific context of the 2024 general elections, it is declared that the 80 successful candidates (including 39 listed in the first appendix of this decision) who were shown by the Commission as PTI members are deemed to have obtained their seats under PTI as per the provisions of Article 51 of the Constitution.
Paragraph 8: Further, it is ordered that the remaining 41 of the 80 successful candidates (detailed in the second appendix of this decision) must submit a signed and certified statement within 15 days, confirming their participation as candidates of the relevant political party.
The Election Commission will then issue a notice to the political party within seven days, which will confirm whether the candidate participated as a party candidate.
The political party may file a motion for confirmation at any time. Upon confirmation, the candidate will be considered a party candidate under the provisions of Paragraph 5 and Article 51.
The Election Commission will then update its website with the list of successful candidates within seven days of the confirmation deadline and will report compliance to the court.
In response to Paragraph 7, the Election Commission stated that the 39 National Assembly members designated as PTI members had not submitted party tickets or declarations required by law.
Therefore, the Returning Officers could not recognize them as PTI candidates.
Regarding Paragraph 8, the Election Commission said that the 41 candidates identified as independent had not mentioned PTI or submitted any party tickets.
Consequently, the Returning Officers allowed them to run as independent candidates.
After winning, these members voluntarily joined Sunni Ittehad Council within three days as per the law.
Sunni Ittehad Council’s appeal against the Election Commission and the Peshawar High Court’s decisions was rejected, and PTI was not a party in either the Election Commission or the court appeals.