Election Act: PTI MNAs declared as members of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) in NA

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the National Assembly (MNAs) have now been declared as members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) following a new party position update in the National Assembly. The National Assembly Secretariat’s list indicates that PTI no longer holds any representation, with all 80 MNAs now aligned with the SIC.

Previously, 39 members were from PTI and 41 were independents, but after recent changes to the Election Act, all 80 members now fall under the SIC.

The updated party position list also includes seats for other political parties: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has 110 seats, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has 69, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) holds 22. Additionally, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has 22 seats, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) has five, and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) holds four seats. There are also eight independent MNAs, and smaller parties such as PKMAP, BNP Mengal, and MWM each hold one seat.

The new Election Act has allocated 23 reserved seats to PML-N, five to PPP, and three to JUI. The Speaker of the National Assembly had earlier requested the Election Commission of Pakistan not to assign any reserved seats to PTI, claiming that the Supreme Court’s previous ruling was rendered unenforceable following amendments to the Election Act of 2017.

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq argued that the Supreme Court’s judgment was based on pre-amendment laws and that the new law prevents independent candidates who have joined a political party from switching affiliations. The revised Election Act stipulates that the decision of an independent candidate to join a political party is irrevocable.

Despite this, a 13-member Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled in favor of PTI’s eligibility for reserved seats, overturning a previous Peshawar High Court decision that supported the Election Commission’s refusal to allocate seats to SIC. The court’s 8-5 majority ruling was a setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government. Five judges, including the Chief Justice, dissented from the majority opinion.

The dispute over reserved seats arose after more than 80 independent candidates supported by PTI won in the February 8 elections. SIC sought the allocation of reserved seats but was denied by the Election Commission due to PTI’s failure to submit a candidate list on time. The matter was taken to court, where the Peshawar High Court upheld the Election Commission’s decision.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh Assemblies also saw allocations of reserved seats. The Election Commission awarded one reserved seat each in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to JUI, PML-N, and PPP, while women’s reserved seats in the Sindh Assembly went to MQM and PPP. Additionally, the PPP secured a minority seat through Sadhu Mal in the Sindh Assembly. The Election Commission also distributed three minority seats between PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F, which were claimed by SIC.

Following the Peshawar High Court ruling, the ruling coalition, including PML-N and PPP, secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. This decision brought PML-N’s seats to 123, PPP’s to 73, and SIC’s to 82.