Notification of five MPAs on reserved seats cannot be issued before by-election, ECP tells LHC

Notification of five MPAs on reserved seats cannot be issued before by-election, ECP tells LHC

Web Desk
May 31, 2022

Notification of five MPAs on reserved seats cannot be issued before by-election, ECP tells LHC

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday informed the Lahore High Court that the notification of five MPAs on reserved seats could not be issued before the by-election on the vacant seats of PTI dissidents.

In a written reply submitted by the ECP, it stated that the notification of proportional seats will be issued after the by-election as the party position may change after the election on 20 seats.

It further stated that the political parties have also approached the ECP and their petitions would be after the completion of their arguments. The ECP sought time which the court granted.

Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti was hearing a petition of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) questioning a delay in the issuance of notification of five MPAs on reserved seats after the disqualification of 25 MPAs who defected in the election of Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

Advocate Azhar Siddique appeared before the court on behalf of PTI MPA Zainab Umar pleading that the ECP issued a notification for by-election on 20 vacant general seats and new members would be nominated on the reserved seats.

The counsel said the PTI proposed five names for nomination in place of the vacant reserved seats, however, the ECP failed to issue notifications for the same which was against the law.

He said the government had been causing a hindrance in the issuance of the notification of the MPAs for the five reserved seats. He argued that the deliberate hindrance and willful non-issuance of the notification was in violation of Article 224 of the Constitution.

The counsel asked the court to direct the ECP to immediately issue the notifications for the reserved seats of the MPAs as the list by the petitioner’s party had already been furnished.

The court will resume hearing after the decision of ECP on political parties’ petitions.

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