The PTI submitted its list of candidates for reserved seats for women and minorities in the National Assembly and three provincial assemblies to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday but decided to keep the details confidential for now.
This submission occurred a day after the ECP partially implemented the Supreme Court’s ruling on the party’s reserved seats, notifying 39 of the 80 returned MNAs as PTI lawmakers after a significant delay.
Sources informed Dawn that in line with the Supreme Court’s order, the PTI also submitted signed statements from 41 independent MNAs declaring they had contested the February 8 general elections as PTI candidates. The ECP, seeking guidance from the Supreme Court on verifying these affiliations due to the lack of the party’s organizational structure, submitted a document during the ruling on Thursday.
In a majority verdict on July 12, the Supreme Court declared PTI eligible for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the National and provincial assemblies, effectively reinstating it as a parliamentary party.
Despite conflicting statements from party leaders, the PTI kept the details of the lists confidential
The judgement clarified that 39 out of the 80 MNAs listed by the ECP as PTI candidates belonged to the party, while the remaining 41 independents were required to file signed and notarized statements with the ECP within 15 days, stating their affiliation with a particular political party during the general elections.
PTI spokesman Shoaib Shaheen confirmed to Dawn that the lists were submitted to the ECP but mentioned that the lists were currently held by Kanwal Shauzab. Similarly, Aamir Mughal, an office-bearer of PTI’s Islamabad chapter, confirmed the submission but could not provide the lists.
Interestingly, senior PTI leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser stated he was unaware of any lists being submitted to the ECP.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to suspend the Peshawar High Court’s judgement, which deprived the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) of reserved seats for women and minorities, the ECP suspended the victory notifications of 77 members of the National and provincial assemblies elected on these seats.
These seats will now be allocated to the PTI. The suspended lawmakers included 22 National Assembly members elected on reserved seats. It remains unclear how many women and minorities have been nominated by the PTI for these reserved seats, as parties typically submit more names than needed in a preference order.
A PTI source claimed the lists were kept undisclosed intentionally to avoid potential internal conflicts, as there could be resentment from those not included or not given preference on the lists.
