Election Act amendments invalidate SC verdict on reserved seats, NA Speaker tells ECP

The Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq wrote a letter Thursday to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), informing the electoral watchdog that the Supreme Court’s decision on reserved seats was no longer applicable after the Election Act was amended.

The development comes days after the Supreme Court criticised the ECP’s request to seek clarification from the top court on its ruling on reserved seats and ordered that it immediately implement the top court’s original decision in the case.

SC orders ECP to immediately implement reserved seats verdict

According to the eight judges who earlier ruled in favour of allotting PTI reserved seats in the July verdict, the electoral watchdog’s request was an “attempt to create confusion” and “obstruct” the implementation of the court’s original order.

The letter from the speaker of the national assembly also comes as the government is still working to get a judicial package passed by the parliament.

Ayaz stressed in a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner that the court’s order cannot be carried out in light of the changes made to the law by Parliament and that the Election Commission must instead abide by the new legislation.

ECP decides to implement Supreme Court’s order in reserved seats case

The Supreme Court had previously decided that independent candidates could switch their political affiliation and join a party after winning an election.

Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, however, made note of the August 7, 2024, amendment to the Election Act that Parliament passed, which forbids independent candidates from changing their affiliation with a party after the election.

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According to him, the Supreme Court’s decision is superseded by this amendment.

In addition to fully implementing the new reserved seat provisions, he called on the ECP to uphold parliamentary supremacy.

He emphasised that protection of laws passed by the Parliament and ensuring their enforcement are constitutional responsibilities of the ECP.