PHC nullifies ECP’s notifications on KP reserved seats

PESHAWAR, JULY 9 (DNA): As the reserved seats saga continues to unfold, the Peshawar High Court declared null and void the 2024 notifications issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) about reserved seats for women and minorities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

The bench, comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Dr Khurshid Iqbal, issued a brief written order after hearing the case. The court also declared that the ECP’s deadline of February 22, 2024 for independent candidates to join a political party was unconstitutional.

The court directed the ECP to hear all relevant political parties again and reallocate the seats within 10 days. It also ordered that, until the new decision is made, the two women MPAs from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) should not be de-notified.

The development comes as the electoral body, last week, reinstated 21 reserved seats for women in KP Assembly following the Supreme Court’s verdict, which declared the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ineligible for reserved seats.

Out of these 21 seats, eight were allocated to JUI-F, six to PML-N, and five to PPP. One seat each was also allotted to the PTI Parliamentarians (PTI-P) and the Awami National Party (ANP).

Meanwhile, four reserved seats for minorities in the KP Assembly were restored of which two were handed over to the JUI-F, one each to the PML-N and PPP.

The ECP also restored five reserved seats for women in the National Assembly from KP and announced a revised schedule for Senate elections in the province, setting July 21 as the new polling date.

During the PHC hearing, Barristers Amir Javed and Saqib Raza represented the PML-N, whereas Special Secretary Law for ECP Muhammad Arshad and Mohsin Kamran, as well as counsels for JUI-F’s minority MPA Gurjal Singh, appeared before the court.

Barrister Javed told the court that the PML-N had won seven seats in the KP Assembly, but the ECP had allotted 10 reserved seats to JUI-F, which also had seven seats, while PML-N was given only eight reserved seats.

He argued that the ECP allotted seats based on six PML-N seats, ignoring the seventh seat won by an independent candidate who joined the party within three days — a move he claimed was against fair seat distribution.

Barrister Javed requested the court to annul the ECP notifications and restrain the oath-taking of the MPAs on reserved seats until the final decision.

The JUIF’s counsel referred to a SC judgment and argued that the 2024 ECP notification on women’s seats had not been challenged in a separate petition.

Justice Arshad Ali asked the ECP how it could allocate reserved seats when the process was not finalised. The special secretary for law explained that the assembly session must be held within 21 days after elections.

Justice Arshad questioned the logic of giving five seats based on the party position as of February 22 and the rest in March, calling it illogical and contradictory.

The ECP counsel stated that the PML-N had already filed a petition on July 1, which was decided and disposed of.

However, Barrister Javed demanded that if JUI-F received 10 reserved seats for seven general seats, then PML-N should receive the same — meaning both parties should be allotted nine reserved seats. He demanded that the fourth minority seat be decided through a draw since both parties had equal representation.

The court observed that the ECP’s February 22 notification violated Article 106 of the Constitution, the Election Act 2017 and the Election Rules. It also ordered a review and revision of the March 4, 2024, notification under which 20 women’s reserved seats were notified. Furthermore, the court annulled the March 26, 2024, notification under which Gurjal Singh was allocated a minority seat.

Meanwhile, the JUI-F has announced fielding the party’s provincial secretary general, Maulana Attaul Haq Dervesh, for contesting Senate elections on the general category and Dilawar Khan on the technocrat seat.

The decision was made during a session of the party’s provincial executive council held here on Tuesday, with its provincial president Senator Maulana Attaur Rehman in the chair.

The meeting discussed the upcoming Senate elections, organisational matters and the conferences planned for central and southern districts.