The Chief Election Commissioner, Sikandar Sultan Raja, will be leading a crucial ECP meeting today to make a decision on the quota for reserved seats. This issue has become a point of contention, causing President Arif Alvi to delay calling for a National Assembly session.
After obtaining 23 reserved seats for women and minorities, the number of SIC members in the National Assembly will increase to 104. The ECP has not yet allocated 78 out of the total 226 reserved seats for women in the national and provincial assemblies, which will be decided upon in this meeting.
There are still PTI-backed independents who have not joined the party to participate in their intra-party elections. The commission’s law wing will provide information on the allocation of reserved seats during the meeting, and further discussions will continue on Tuesday if a decision is not reached today.
Referring to a Lahore High Court ruling in 2018, the official mentioned that the reserved seat quota for a party is non-transferable. The PTI’s failure to submit the list for minorities’ reserved seats in Punjab led to a court case after a one-day delay in candidate submission.
The Balochistan Awami Party also received a reserved seat for women in the KP Assembly after the merger elections in the former Fata region. Out of the total 60 reserved seats for women in the National Assembly, 40 have been allocated to different political parties, while seven out of ten seats reserved for minorities have also been assigned.
In the provincial assemblies, most of the reserved seats for women and minorities have been allocated, with some remaining to be decided upon. The meeting today will be crucial in finalizing these allocations.