Contempt plea filed in SC against ECP for 'defying' reserved seats ruling

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a contempt of court petition on Monday against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Supreme Court, accusing the commission of failing to implement the top court's reserved seats ruling.

The petition, submitted by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, made the chief election commissioner and provincial election commissioners respondents.

He contended that the court's decision and two subsequent clarifications "leave no doubt whatsoever" regarding PTI's entitlement to reserved seats.

He said that the ECP had not yet taken action on the judgment to finalise the election of lawmakers to the reserved seats. "This deliberate and contumacious failure to act in accordance with the judgment… renders the chief election commissioner as well as the four members of the ECP liable to proceedings for the contempt of the judgment of this honourable court," he argued.

The PTI leader urged the apex court to initiate contempt proceedings against the ECP and to direct it to comply with the July 12 verdict.

It is pertinent to note that the top court's full bench of 13 judges had ruled that PTI was eligible for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in both national and provincial assemblies. The ruling had come as a blow to the PML-N-led ruling coalition while potentially positioning PTI as the single largest party in Parliament.

The judgment declared PTI a parliamentary party, maintaining that 39 of the 80 MNAs listed by the ECP were PTI members. The remaining 41 independents were instructed to submit signed, notarised statements to the ECP within 15 days, indicating their affiliation with a specific party from the February 8 elections.

However, despite reminders and court warnings, the electoral watchdog has yet to implement the SC's directives.