PTI submits reserved seats list to ECP

Yasmin, Sanam and Aliya among top contenders

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI has submitted a list of candidates for reserved seats of women and minority members to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). According to reports, the list includes names of PTI stalwarts Yasmin Rashid, Sanam Javed and Aliya Hamza Malik.

The list includes 67 names for seats reserved for women and 11 for minority seats. Apart from Sanam and Aliya, Kanwal Shauzab, Rubina Shaheen and Seemabia Tahir have also been chosen for reserved seats for women in the National Assembly.

Dr Yasmin Rashid has been named for a reserved seat for women in the Punjab Assembly while Lal Chand Malhi is among the lawmakers named for one of the reserved seats for minorities in the NA.

The PTI submitted the lists on Friday, a day after the ECP recognized 39 lawmakers as the PTI members in the National Assembly and issued their notifications.

PTI candidates had contested the February 8 polls as independents in view of an ECP order that deprived the party of its election symbol. Eighty such independents had reached the NA and later joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) after announcement of official election results to qualify for reserved seats.

However, the ECP had refused to allocate reserved seats to the SIC and rather distributed additional reserved seats among political parties with representation in various legislatures.

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) had later upheld the ECP order and the SIC had approached the Supreme Court. The full bench of the Supreme Court in a majority verdict on July 12 declared the PHC's March 25 judgment and the ECP's March 1 order as unconstitutional and without legal standing.

In the landmark ruling, the apex court directed the PTI to submit a list of its eligible candidates for reserved seats to the electoral body within 15 days of the verdict. The ECP was also directed to publish the list of reserved seats of the candidates on its website within seven days after submission of such list.

Complying with the short order of the top court, the PTI on Friday submitted the list of its candidates for the reserved seats in the NA as well as Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.

On Thursday, the ECP also approached the Supreme Court for clarification regarding 41 independent members who have submitted their party affiliation documents, indicating their allegiance to the PTI in line with the SC order.

The ECP's letter to the Supreme Court Registrar stated that while these members have declared their affiliation with the PTI, the party lacks a confirmed structure in the ECP records.

The ECP requested in-chamber guidance on confirming the party affiliations of these independent members, noting that Barrister Gohar Ali Khan is not recognized as the PTI chairman in their records.

"Guidance is also sought for the legal consequences of confirmation of statements of MNAs/MPAs by an unauthorized person on behalf of the PTI in absence of its organizational structure," the letter said.