Ruling coalition given two-thirds majority as ECP notifies reserved seats

In a significant realignment of parliamentary power, the ruling coalition, largely comprising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly on Wednesday after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) redistributed reserved seats following a Supreme Court verdict.

The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court overturned an earlier July 2024 ruling that had granted reserved seats to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), stripping the party of its eligibility to hold them. As a result, PTI ceased to be recognised as a parliamentary party.

Reserved seats: ECP says majority judgement premised on ‘erroneous conclusion’

Responding to the court’s majority decision, passed by a seven-judge bench, the ECP withdrew its previous notifications from July 2024 that had marked PTI-backed candidates as returned members of the National Assembly and various provincial legislatures. It then issued new notifications reallocating reserved seats among the PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F.

National Assembly composition recast

With the allocation of 13 additional reserved seats to the PML-N, 4 to the PPP, the ruling coalition now holds 235 seats in the 336-member house, well above the 224 required for a two-thirds majority. The opposition commands 98 seats, with JUI-F getting two seats, while one seat remains suspended,d and two reserved seats are currently vacant.

Provincial shifts

The ECP also reallocated reserved seats in the provincial assemblies:

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly: 10 seats to JUI-F, 7 to PML-N, 6 to PPP, and 1 each to PTI-Parliamentarians and Awami National Party (ANP).

• Punjab Assembly: 23 to PML-N, 2 to PPP, and 1 each to PML-Q and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP).

• Sindh Assembly: 2 reserved seats to PPP and 1 to MQM-P.

PHC bars elected MPAs on reserved seats from taking oath

Legal background

The case stemmed from a March 2024 ruling by the Peshawar High Court, which barred the Sunni Ittehad Council, joined by PTI-backed independents after the February 8 elections, from claiming reserved seats.

While Justices Ayesha Malik and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi initially rejected review petitions filed by the PML-N, PPP, and ECP, they were later removed from the Constitutional Bench.

Meanwhile, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail dissented, maintaining PTI’s claim to 39 seats and urging reallocation to include the party.

A previous majority judgment had required independent candidates to clarify their political affiliations through notarised statements, leading to provisional recognition of some as PTI members.

However, in the final review, Justices Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi revised their earlier positions and supported the review petitions.

They directed the ECP to re-examine the nomination papers and affiliation declarations of all 80 returned candidates and issue decisions on the eligibility of reserved seats within 15 days.

The reallocation of these seats has reshaped legislative dynamics at the federal and provincial levels, marking a dramatic shift in parliamentary representation just months after the general elections.