Elections 2018: PML-N expects 110, PTI 79 Punjab NA seats

ISLAMABAD: The lists of names of women for reserved seats for the National Assembly in Punjab submitted by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reflect their minds about the number of seats they hope to get in the July 25 parliamentary polls.

These are their estimates and expectations, which may or may not come true, obviously depending on their performance at the ballot. A total of 141 seats of the Lower House of Parliament are up for grabs in Punjab. Thirty-two women will be indirectly elected on reserved seats by the votes of the members of the National Assembly (MNAs). It means that 4.4 MNAs will be required to elect one female to the National Assembly in Punjab.

The PML-N has filed with the ECP the names of 25 females for these special seats. Twenty-five multiplied by 4.4 comes to 110, the number of seats that this party believes it will win. The PTI has submitted to the ECP the names of 18 women for the reserved seats. It implies that the PTI hopes to clinch 79.2 seats (18 X 4.4) of the National Assembly in Punjab.

Both the parties are unexpected to secure the precise number of seats in the direct election for which they have fielded for the special quota of women. The PML-N’s 110 predicted seats and PTI’s 79 anticipated seats bring the total to 189 seats while Punjab will contribute only 141 MNAs to the National Assembly.

If a party gets more National Assembly seats than it has put forward the names of women candidates for the reserved share and now informed the ECP accordingly, it can revise the list upward by adding more names. However, if it bags fewer seats than its expectation, preference will be given to only those women in order of priority whose names are mentioned in the list that have the enough votes to be elected. The weight and worth of the candidates, who are cited first in the list, is more for the political parties than those following them.

The PML-N has also submitted 53 names for the special women seats in the Punjab Assembly. There are a total of 66 special women seats in the provincial legislature, which has as many as 297 directly elected seats. Thus, one woman candidate will need the support of 4.5 members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) to get elected.

The PML-N’s list also throws light on the projected number of seats it aspires to bag in the Punjab Assembly. When 4.5, the required votes to elected on woman, is multiplied by 53 candidates it has fielded, the tally comes to 238, the number of directly contested seats it looks forward to secure.

The PML-N’s 25 female candidates for the reserved seats of the National Assembly from Punjab in order of preference include Tahira Aurangzeb, Shaista Pervez Malik, Ayesha Rajab Baloch, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Kiran Dar, Romina Khurshid Alam, Musarrat Asif Khawaja, Zeb Jaffar, Dr Samina Matloob, Shahnaz Saleem, Seema Jilani, Maiza Hameed, Shakila Luqman, Muniba Iqbal, Rida Khan, Amira Khan, Nighat Mir, Shahzadi Tiwana, Iffat Liaqat, Mehwish Sultana, Begum Ishrat Ashraf, Sadia Nadeem, Tamkeen Akhtar Niazi and Khalida Mansoor.

The PTI’s women nominees for the Punjab contest in order of priority are Dr Shireen Mazari, Munaza Hassan and Andleeb Abbas, Asma Qadeer, Aliya Hamza, Javeria Zafar, Kanwal Shauzab, Dr Seemi Bukhari, Sobia Kamal, Nosheen Hamid, Rubina Jamil, Maleeka Bokhari, Fouzia Bahram, Rukhsana Naveed, Tashfeen Safdar, Wajeeha Ikram, Asiya Azeem, and Mashaam Hassan.

The selection of the female candidates is the sole prerogative of the party heads as they shower the special favour on them for their commitment. The aspirants get elected without going through hassle of the election campaign, which entails a huge spending from their pockets.

When contacted, PML-N leader Senator Pervez Rashid told The News that the PML-N will bag more seats than the calculation done keeping in view the number of its women candidates it has sponsored for the special seats.

Senior PTI stalwart Naeemul Haq told this correspondent that his party will have the opportunity to make addition to the list already filed with the ECP in case it will get more National Assembly seats in Punjab.

However, he attacked Section 104 of the Election Acts, which deals with the reserved women seats. It is an undemocratic clause that the PTI will challenge in a superior court, he said. “Every party should have the right to make alterations to its list.”

Section 104 says for the purpose of election to seats reserved for women, the political parties contesting the polls for such seats will, within the period fixed by the ECP for submission of nomination papers, file separate lists of their candidates in order of priority with the ECP or, as it may direct, with the Provincial Election Commissioner or other authorised officer of the ECP. The lists thus submitted will not be subject to change or alteration either in the order of priority or through addition or omission of new names after expiry of the date of submission of nomination papers.

These lists may contain as many names of additional candidates as a political party may deem necessary for contesting seats reserved for women to provide for any disqualification of candidates during scrutiny of nomination papers or for filling of any vacant seats during the term of an assembly. A candidate to a seat reserved for women will file the nomination papers on or before the last date fixed for the election and the papers will, as nearly as possible, be scrutinised in the same manner as papers of candidates on general seats are scrutinised.

If, at any time, the party list is exhausted, the political party may submit a name for any vacancy which may occur. Where a seat reserved for women falls vacant as a result of death, resignation or disqualification of a member, it will be filled in by the next person in order of precedence from the party‘s list of candidates submitted to the ECP.

A candidate contesting election on a seat reserved for women will, along with the nomination papers, submit to the returning officer (RO) a copy of the party list of the candidate‘s political party for such seats, and declarations and statements in support of the nomination. Where there is equality of share on a reserved seat between two or more political parties, the RO shall declare the returned candidate by drawing of lots.