ISLAMABAD: A petition has been filed before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by Amina Hassan Sheikh, a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), along with Mohsin Ayub Khan, another PML-N MPA from PP-12 (Rawalpindi-VI). The petition challenges the allocation of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the 2024 General Elections and targets the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Amina Sheikh and Mohsin Ayub Khan through lawyer Umar Sajjad have invoked Sections 4, 66, and 104 of the Election Act 2017, citing discrepancies in the reserved seat allocations, and challenging the entitlement of SIC and PTI to claim these seats due to their failure to comply with legal requirements.
According to the petition, the 2024 General Elections, held on February 8, saw political parties, including PML-N, contesting various seats. In accordance with Article 51 and 106 of the Constitution, 67 seats were reserved for women and 11 for non-Muslims, with the remainder being allocated proportionally based on party performance.
However, on March 1, 2024, the ECP partially accepted petitions from political parties like MQM-P, PPPP, and PML-N, while ruling that the SIC was not eligible for reserved seats due to procedural violations. The SIC subsequently challenged this decision in the Peshawar High Court, which dismissed their petition on March 25. The SIC then approached the Supreme Court, which, on July 12, set aside the Peshawar High Court’s decision.
The petitioners argue that subsequent amendments to the Elections Act, specifically through the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, have solidified the requirements for party affiliation and submission of lists for reserved seats. Section 66 of the amended act dictates that candidates failing to declare their party affiliation should be treated as independents. Furthermore, Section 104 prohibits political parties that did not submit their reserved seats list on time from claiming such seats later.
The petition, primarily prepared and submitted by Amina Hassan Sheikh, seeks the ECP’s intervention to declare all candidates who failed to declare their party affiliation in time as independent candidates. It also requests that political parties, including SIC and PTI, which did not submit their lists for reserved seats within the legally mandated period, be barred from claiming these seats.
The petition also highlights that any returned candidate who submitted a declaration of party affiliation at the time of nomination cannot later withdraw or substitute this declaration.
Amina Hassan Sheikh, the main petitioner, is asserting her right to have these issues addressed by the ECP, citing the legislative amendments that came into effect in August 2024. The petition remains open to further supplementation of facts and documents.
Sheikh is requesting the ECP to enforce the updated electoral laws and prevent any circumvention of the rules regarding party affiliations and reserved seat quotas. The petition marks a significant challenge to the political maneuverings surrounding the reserved seats in Pakistan’s assemblies.
