Adequate representation: PTI eyes lion’s share of reserved seats from the province

JUI-F, PML-N follow with six and five respectively.

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is poised to get a large slice of the reserved seats quota from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in both national and provincial assemblies.

K-P has eight reserved seats for women in the National Assembly (NA) and 22 in the provincial legislature, while three are reserved for minorities. Female lawmakers’ seats are distributed among political parties in proportion to their performance in the general elections.

The PTI secured 35 seats in the K-P Assembly. After 10 independents joined the party, its strength rose to 45 in the provincial assembly. This entitles PTI to 10 reserved seats for women in the provincial legislature based on the formula of one reserved seat per 4.5 general seats.



Of the three minority seats in the K-P Assembly, PTI will receive one. According to norms, the three largest parties in the K-P Assembly get one minority seat each.

The party won 17 general seats in the NA from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Based on the one reserved seat per 4.3 general seats formula, the PTI will receive four reserved seats for women in the central legislature.

Altogether this brings the party’s tally of reserved seats for national and provincial legislatures at 15.

Since the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has 13 seats in the K-P Assembly, it will get three seats for women. The JUI-F will also get one of the remaining two minority seats in the provincial legislature.

The party has six lawmakers from K-P in the National assembly. According to the NA seat formula, JUI-F will is set to get one reserved seat with the potential for one more.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 12 seats in the provincial assembly, and is likely to get three seats reserved for women, and one minority seat, as well as one reserved seat for women in the NA.

As the Jamaat-e-Islami has seven K-P Assembly seats, it is likely to receive one reserved seat in the provincial assembly. The party will also have one seat for women in the National Assembly.

The Qaumi Watan Party is set to get two seats reserved for women in the provincial assembly, the Awami Jamhori Ittehad one and the Awami National Party one.

The last remaining reserved seat for women in the provincial assembly will either fall to the JI or the Pakistan Peoples Party and will be determined by the same K-P Assembly seat formula.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2013