Islamabad: 18 Oct 2024: On Friday, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that changes to election laws do not negate its ruling regarding reserved seats.

On July 12, a 13-judge bench ruled that the opposition PTI is entitled to reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in both national and provincial assemblies. This decision posed a significant challenge to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition and could position the PTI as the largest party in Parliament.

The Supreme Court also recognized the PTI as a parliamentary party, clarifying that out of the 80 MNAs identified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as PTI candidates, 39 belong to the party. The remaining 41 independents must submit notarized statements within 15 days, confirming they contested the February 8 elections as representatives of a specific political party.

The ECP committed to executing the Supreme Court's ruling, instructing its legal team to identify any barriers to implementation and seeking further guidance from the court. However, last month, the Supreme Court criticized the ECP’s "misconceived" request and mandated immediate compliance with its original order.

In the midst of this, the contentious Election (Second Amendment) Bill 2024, which seeks to prevent PTI-backed independents from joining the party, was swiftly passed in August.

In response to the changes in election law, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq sent a letter to the ECP stating that the reserved seats ruling "cannot be implemented under the Amended Election Act, 2017." This prompted the ECP to approach the Supreme Court again for clarification, claiming it could not follow the orders due to these amendments.

Today, the Supreme Court clarified that neither the ECP nor the PTI can seek further clarification on its judgment, asserting, “The effect of the amendment made in the Elections Act cannot undo our judgment with retrospective effect. The amendments made after our short order will have no bearing, and the commission must implement the judgment without further clarification.”

The court highlighted that its prior clarification had been merged into the detailed order issued later, and emphasized that the detailed reasons addressed all legal and constitutional concerns. It reminded that its judgment carries binding authority under Article 189 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

A source indicated that the ECP was expected to make a decision today regarding the allocation of reserved seats to the PTI in line with the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling. A meeting led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja had discussed letters from Sadiq regarding the reserved seats.

The ECP's law wing briefed the commission, with plans for another meeting today to consult legal experts. Some analysts speculated that the ECP might oppose the Supreme Court’s ruling and reinstate members from the PML-N, PPP, and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, who were previously declared elected to reserved seats. Sources claimed these former members had been asked to come to Islamabad to take their oaths following their potential reinstatement.