PESHAWAR:
Almost one and a half years after the general elections, the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is going to finally stand fully constituted with induction of lawmakers on reserved seats. These lawmakers are going to take their oaths today (Sunday).
A session of the K-P Assembly will start at 9 am in Peshawar in which a total of 25 members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) will take their oath of office. These lawmakers include 21 women and 4 minority members, all belonging to opposition parties.
Reserved seats in the K-P — where Imran Khan’s PTI is in power — could not be filled due to a controversy over reserved seats, on which the ruling party laid claim. The PTI, however, lost the legal battle for reserved seats on June 28.
Later, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) distributed the reserved seats among opposition parties — the PML-N, the PPP, the JUI-F, the ANP and the PTI-Parliamentarians. According to the ECP’s final distribution both the PML-N and the JUI-F got seven reserved seats for women.
The PPP got 5 women and 1 minority seat, totaling 10 seats in the assembly. The ANP and the PTI-Parliamentarians each received 2 general and 1 women’s seat. One women’s seat was decided between them in a coin toss.
Senate elections for seven general seats, two reserved seats for women and two seats reserved for technocrats/religious scholars are scheduled to be held at the K-P Assembly on July 21 (tomorrow).
