ECP de-notifies another 43 PTI MNAs

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday de-notified another 43 members of the National Assembly (MNAs) belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

“Pursuant upon the acceptance of resignations by the speaker National Assembly and in pursuance of the notification no F.21 (4)/2022-Legis dated January 21, 2023 of the National Assembly of Pakistan, the Election Commission of Pakistan hereby de-notifies the following members of the National Assembly with immediate effect,” the ECP notification says.

The PTI MNAs, whose resignations have been accepted, include 16 elected on women reserved seats and four on reserved seats for non-Muslims. The PTI, which prior to opting for the mass resignation trend, was the largest party in the lower house of parliament; now it has only two members who had applied for leave.

After he accepted the resignations, the NA speaker had written to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to accept the resignations of PTI members and de-notify them.

Interestingly, in a belated move, the PTI had moved the ECP, urging it not to de-notify its MNAs even if the speaker accepts their resignations, whereas the speaker had already accepted their resignations and written to the electoral body to de-notify them.