ECP to hear reserved seats case on 14th

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will hear the case concerning the allocation of reserved seats on July 14, after receiving the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order.

The ECP has released the cause list, notifying five political parties—Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF), Awami National Party (ANP), and PTI-Parliamentarians—to appear before it.

Additionally, the electoral body has issued notices to 71 candidates from these parties, whose names feature in the cause list.

On July 8, the PHC nullified the ECP’s notification on the distribution of reserved seats for women and minorities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly. The court’s two-page reserved judgement came on a petition filed by the PMLN challenging the allocation.

The court directed the ECP to reallocate the seats after hearing all relevant parties within 10 days. The court also halted the oath-taking of lawmakers on these reserved seats until the ECP’s final decision.

Earlier, on July 2, the ECP had restored 74 out of 77 suspended members, including 19 National Assembly members, 27 Punjab Assembly members, 25 KP Assembly members, and 3 Sindh Assembly members. This move followed the Supreme Court’s June 27 verdict, where a constitution bench accepted review petitions on reserved seats by a majority decision.