On Wednesday, the government party PML-N filed an appeal within the court against a judgement by the Lahore High Court that ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to inform lawmakers on reserved seats in the Punjab Assembly based on a list submitted by the PTI.
In the appeal that the PML-N filed inside the court, it said that the LHC single bench should not have given the verdict since it did not comply with the legal requirements. The party continued to claim that the order given by the LHC to provide notifications on the reserved seats is in violation of the law. The PML-N pleaded before the court that the rulings issued by the LHC on June 27 should be overturned.
LHC Directs ECP to notify Lawmakers
Following the admission of a petition that had been submitted by the PTI, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on June 27 issued a directive that instructed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to inform the members of the Punjab Assembly’s reserved seats. This directive was issued in response to the petition.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed an appeal with the Lahore High Court in reaction to the decision made by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the issuing of a notification on the reserved assembly seats till the by-elections on 20 vacant seats (LHC). After giving careful consideration to all of the arguments that were provided by the relevant parties, the LHC ultimately decided to make the announcement.
When speaking to the media, Ali Zafar, a lawyer for the PTI, expressed his contentment with the decision and referred to it as a “game-changer.” As a consequence of the ruling handed down by the LHC, the PTI will be given five reserved seats inside the provincial legislature. This will lead to an increase in the party’s overall representation within the body.
Party Position in Punjab Assembly:
There are a total of 371 members in the Punjab parliament; as of right now, 20 of those seats are vacant, and new elections are slated to take place on July 17 of this year. As a direct consequence of this, the overall number of members of the Punjab Assembly has been brought down to 351.
The PML-N is the party that is currently in control of Pakistan’s government, has a total membership of 165 people. Nevertheless, four of its MPAs have already rebelled against the party leadership, and two of those MPAs are still on the fence about whether or not they will continue to be affiliated with the PML-N. This brings the overall number of PML-protected areas down to 163, reducing the total N.
On the other hand, there is the opposition, which is also known as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and it currently controls 158 members of the National Assembly. On the other hand, if the five reserved seats are doled out in a manner that is in line with the recommendations of the LHC, the total number of PTI members would rise to 163.
In addition, there are five independents sitting as members of the House of Representatives; however, the individual who formerly held the position of minister of the interior, Chaudhry Nisar, is not anticipated to participate in the voting process. In contrast, the Rah-e-Haq party only has one member in the Provincial Assembly, whilst the PML-Q has a total of ten of those seats.
