PTI gets 33 reserved seats, consolidates its lead in NA

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) consolidated its lead in the National Assembly to 158 seats after pocketing 33 reserved seats of women and minorities

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued a notification to allot reserved seats of women as well as minorities to political parties in proportion to their seats won during the recently held general election.

The PTI had won 116 seats in the elections; whereas, another nine independent MNAs-elect joined it afterwards, taking its tally of seats to 125 and this fetched it 28 women reserved seats and five seats of minorities in the National Assembly.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was second in terms of its 64-NA seats, which earned it 16 women reserved seats and two minorities seats and its total strength in the 342-member House is now 82, followed by the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians that had won 42 NA seats in elections, which fetched its nine women reserved seats and two minorities seats. The PPPP’s total strength in the National Assembly is now 53.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal had pocketed 12 NA seats in the elections; hence, it earned two women reserved seats and one minority seat and its tally of seats in the legislature is 15. The MQM-Pakistan was allotted one women reserved seat and it stands with a total of seven seats in the assembly.

Moreover, the PML-Q also got one women reserved seat to make its tally of seats in the assembly five. Balochistan Awami Party has five seats, BNP-Mengal has four, GDA has three while ANP, JWP and AML have one seat each in the legislature; whereas, out of 13 independent MNAs-elect, four preferred to remain independent.

Polling was cancelled in two NA constituencies--NA-60 and NA-103--whereas notification of one seat had been withheld. Earlier, the ECP Saturday directed candidates elected to multiple national or provincial assembly seats during July 25 polls to resign from seats except the one they wish to retain.

The commission said in a statement that as per Article 223 (3) of the Constitution, all candidates elected on multiple seats in the national or provincial assemblies will have to tender their resignations before they take the oath of membership for the assemblies.

The resignation shall be addressed to the chief election commissioner and shall be delivered either in person or through authorised agent to the ECP Secretariat, Islamabad, or in the offices of provincial election commissioners Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Imran Khan will vacate Bannu, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad seats as he has decided to retain the Mianwali seat. Likewise, PTI’s Tahir Sadiq will have to choose between NA-55 and NA-56 Attock, while Ghulam Sarwar will have to opt for one seat from NA-59 and NA-63 Rawalpindi.

Pakistan Muslim League-Q will lose two seats: both NA seats won by the party leader Ch Pervez Elahi as he is the nominee for the post of speaker Punjab Assembly.