Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq said that the July 12 finding of the Supreme Court was now “incapable of implementation” following the changes to the Election Act of 2017, following the court’s explanation of its decision regarding reserved seats a few days earlier.
A 13-member full bench of the highest court decided on July 12 that the Imran Khan-founded party was entitled to the distribution of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies, a decision that the party hailed as a huge win for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) order, which had supported the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to deny the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) the reserved seats, was overturned by an 8-5 majority verdict issued by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
The Supreme Court had instructed the election commission to permit independent candidates to join another political party months after they had already joined one as a consequence of the General Elections 2024, the NA Speaker said in a letter to the electoral watchdog.
It stated, “Essentially, the SC ruling has permitted a retried candidate to change political parties.”
