Non-compliance of allocation of 5pc quota for women: IHC directs ECP to take action against parties

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take action on a petition of Aurat Foundation against the non-compliance of allocation of five per cent quota for women by political parties in the general elections.

Aurat Foundation Executive Director Naeem Ahmed Mirza told the IHC that many political parties have not complied with Section 206 of the Elections Act 2017 which is related to the allocation of five per cent quota for women by political parties for the general elections.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, who heard the case, directed the ECP to take action on the complaint by the Aurat Foundation as per law after the elections and disposed of the matter.

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The Aurat Foundation’s petition stated that only Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) have allocated over five per cent of their parties’ tickets to women for 266 National Assembly seats, while other political parties have failed to meet this requirement.

The petitioner said that he had filed an application with the ECP, urging it to act in accordance with the law and ensure that the political parties observe the five per cent women quota in the award of tickets to their candidates. However, the ECP had not taken any action on his application till date.

According to the petitioner, for National Assembly seats, several parties including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Awami National Party (ANP), Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazal (JUI-F), and the Balochistan National Party (BNP) did not meet the requirement of allocating at least five percent of their tickets to women for general seats.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024