Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration encountered a setback on Friday when the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that recent amendments to election laws cannot supersede its earlier decision on the distribution of reserved parliamentary seats, which had benefitted Imran Khan’s opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
This ruling could have significant consequences for the government, which struggled to secure a majority after the February 8 general elections by forming alliances with other political factions to gain a larger share of reserved seats for women and minorities. These seats are allocated to political parties based on their electoral success to ensure representation for underrepresented groups.
The Supreme Court’s prior ruling in July overturned the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to deny reserved seats to PTI, which had to run candidates as independents after losing its electoral symbol. Despite PTI-aligned candidates winning the most seats, the ECP allocated reserved seats to other factions, arguing that these were designated for political parties, not independents.
After the July verdict, the government amended election laws in August, which many perceived as an effort to prevent PTI from claiming its rightful share of reserved seats. The court emphasized, “The amendments made in the Elections Act after the release of our Short Order will have no bearing, and the Commission is bound to implement the judgment passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its letter and spirit, without seeking any further clarification,” following the ECP’s request for guidance on implementing the July ruling.
The Elections (Second Amendment) Bill from August states that candidates who do not declare their political party affiliation to the returning officer before requesting an election symbol will be considered independent. Another amendment specifies that if a political party fails to submit its reserved seats list on time, it will lose eligibility for those seats. Additionally, a winning independent candidate’s decision to join a political party after the elections is irrevocable.
These legal changes were widely viewed as targeting PTI, as its candidates had to align with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to claim their reserved seats, with the ECP ruling PTI ineligible due to its lack of parliamentary representation. Under the election bill, independent candidates who subsequently joined the SIC could not return to their original party.
The Supreme Court’s July decision affirmed PTI’s status as a political party despite the loss of its election symbol. Friday’s ruling marks the second clarification of the court’s verdict for the ECP. Last month, the ECP had sought guidance but was criticized for employing “dilatory tactics” and was instructed to implement the verdict without delay.
