Pakistan seeks review of court ruling that found Imran Khan’s party eligible for parliamentary seats
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government on Monday filed a petition seeking review of Pakistan’s Supreme Court’s ruling last week that found former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party eligible for parliamentary seats.
The July 12 ruling in favor of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party dealt a major blow to Prime Minister Sharif’s ruling coalition, threatening to lose its two-thirds majority in Pakistan’s parliament. PTI candidates ran as independents in Pakistan’s February 8 general elections after the party was barred from voting on the technical grounds that it had not held a legally required internal party vote.
They subsequently won 93 seats in the elections, the most in the country, but the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that independent candidates would not be able to claim the remaining 70 seats in the quota – 60 for women and 10 for non-Muslims. The seats were then distributed to other parties, mainly those in the ruling coalition, but the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) challenged this, claiming that they should have been given the quota seats, and was joined by independent candidates backed by Khan.
The government, in its review petition, pointed out that the issue of reservation of seats for the PTI was not even mentioned in the Election Commission, Peshawar High Court or in the Election Commission’s reply before the Supreme Court.
“SIC and PTI are two separate political parties and two separate organisations. The order under review appears to treat them as one political party with different names, which is not permissible in law,” the government petition stated.
“It is hereby asserted and reiterated that PTI has not filed any case either before the ECP or before the Peshawar High Court or before the Supreme Court. Therefore, PTI is not entitled to any relief and is not even entitled to any relief which has not been claimed.”
The petition said all the successful candidates have already joined the SIC and it is not possible to give them the option to join the PTI so many months after the elections, adding that it is also in violation of Article 92(6) of the Election Rules, 2017, which states that once an independent candidate joins a political party, there is no option for removal or cancellation.
“The orders under review are contrary to well-established principles of constitutional interpretation. By prescribing a procedure not provided for in the Constitution, the orders under review may be venturing into the realm of constitutional creation as well as constitutional interpretation, which is contrary to the long-standing precedents of this honourable court,” the petition stated.
The government had asked the Supreme Court to accept the review petition and stay the implementation of the order declaring the PTI eligible to reserve seats.
Khan’s PTI party was stripped of its election symbol, a cricket bat, by the ECP on the technical grounds that it had not held internal elections, a prerequisite for taking part in elections, forcing all candidates to run as independents in February’s polls.
The PTI currently has reservation in around 78 seats in the national and provincial assemblies, meaning it has no influence over Sharif’s coalition’s parliamentary majority.
The July 12 verdict was a political bolster for Khan’s supporters, who alleged that the Election Commission and the pro-military caretaker government that oversaw the polls rigged the vote to steal their victory – charges the ECP denies.
