Can PTI-loyalists really form government?

Former ruling party can claim reserve seats only after getting back its election symbol

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI-backed independent candidates have outperformed all other political parties in the general elections. Yet, the question being asked nowadays is whether these candidates can unite to form the next central government.

According to party leader Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, the PTI was leading at 170 National Assembly seats before the election results were allegedly rigged in the PML-N’s favour. He stated that the party intended to use legal avenues to highlight this rigging.

Barrister Gohar’s statement has come a day after PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif declared in his victory speech that the PML-N has emerged as the single largest party in Center and Punjab following the February 8’s general elections.

Technically, Nawaz was correct when he claimed that the PML-N emerged as the largest political party following the polls. This is because the PTI contested the general elections through independent candidates after losing its election symbol weeks before the polls due to failure to hold proper intra-party elections.

Currently, PTI-backed candidates hold 100 seats in the National Assembly, followed by the PML-N with 73 and the PPP with 54, out of a total of 266 seats in the lower house

Including the 70 reserved seats brings the total number of seats to 336. For a simple majority, a party needs to have at least 169 seats in the National Assembly.

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob while answering different questions said, apparently, the PTI is not in a position to form the government without forming an alliance with major political parties like the PML-N or the PPP as it doesn’t have the required number for claiming majority in the lower house of the Parliament.

The PILDAT chief also explained in detail what will happen if the PTI-affiliated independent candidates can join the PTI again during the three-day post-election period.

He said it was possible. However, Mehboob explained, it will be a long route as it is mandatory that the party that the independent candidates want to join must have a party symbol.

Therefore, he said, if they want to join the PTI again, the PTI will have to hold intra-party elections and get its symbol back or any other symbol.

This exercise would enable PTI to get reserved seats in the National Assembly as well, he added, saying the condition about having a party symbol has been defined in Rule 94 of the ECP Rules of 2017.

Read: PTI secures two-thirds majority in NA, claims Imran

Answering the question if PTI backed independents can join other registered parties like the MWM, Mehboob responded affirmatively, saying they can join the MWM or any other party.

If they do so, he said, they will be bound to follow that party’s discipline. If the PTI-backed candidates join the MWM or any other party, they can get reserve seats as proportionate to their total number of seats in the NA.

Roughly, if it happens, then they can get 25 to 27 seats provided their total seats remain around 100.

To get reserve seats after joining the MWM, Mehboob said the PTI-backed candidates will have to submit affidavits to the ECP stating that they were joining MWM or any other party.

Subsequently, he said, the head of the MWM or the party they join will have to give in writing to the ECP that he/she has accepted the independent candidates. He said this can take place within the 72 hours once the ECP issues the final poll results.

Mehboob replied in the affirmative again when asked whether the MWM can form a government if it gets the most seats. “For forming a government or electing a PM,” he said, “a party needs to have at least 169 seats in the NA.”

He said the question arises how will that number be achieved as the PTI-backed candidates’ current strength is around 100. However, he explained another scenario in which the PTI can form a government.

If no one gets the magic figure of 169 out of 336 NA seats in the first round when the house elects the prime minister, he said, then anyone having majority in the house that day can elect the PM of their choice or form the government. “Whoever has the majority in the second round can get the PM of their choice or form the government,” he said.

When asked as to what role the PTI-affiliated candidates can play if they combine into a non-party bloc, he said the independent candidates will not get reserve seats in that case and the 70 reserve seats will then be given to other parties based on their strength in the NA.

However, he said, if the PTI-backed candidates do not join any party, they can still get the position of the Leader of the Opposition in the NA. For that, he said, they will have to submit an application to the NA speaker stating that they support the nominated candidate.