ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has commenced the process of distributing reserved seats for women and minorities to other parliamentary parties, following the denial of these seats to the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
As per notifications issued by the ECP, three minority seats in the National Assembly have been assigned to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F). Additionally, two reserved seats for women in the lower house from Punjab have been allocated to PML-N and PPP respectively. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, one minority seat each has been awarded to PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F.
The ECP has also notified the allocation of reserved seats for women in the Sindh Assembly, with PPP's Sumeta Afzal Syed and MQM-P's Fouzia Hameed securing these seats. The reserved minority seat in the Sindh Assembly has been granted to PPP's Sadhu Mal alias Surinder Valasai.
Following these allocations, PML-N emerges as the largest parliamentary party in the National Assembly with 123 seats, followed by PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) with 82 seats, and PPP with 73 seats.
PTI candidates participated in the elections as independents after the Supreme Court invalidated the party's intra-party polls and revoked its claim on the 'bat' electoral symbol. As per the Constitution, reserved seats are allotted to political parties based on the number of lawmakers elected on general seats. The ECP had received priority lists of candidates from parties before the February 8 polls.
This year's scenario differs from previous elections as the largest contingent of lawmakers comprises independents, who are ineligible for reserved seats. There are a total of 346 reserved seats for women, distributed across the National Assembly and provincial legislatures. Additionally, there are 10 reserved seats for minorities in the National Assembly, with additional reserved seats in provincial assemblies.
In a letter, the Sunni Ittehad Council stated that 86 independent candidates from the National Assembly, 107 from the Punjab Assembly, 90 from the K-P Assembly, and nine independent members from the Sindh Assembly have now pledged support to the SIC.
