LAHORE – Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) officially recognized 39 lawmakers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after Supreme Court order on the reserved seats case.
The development comes after landmark verdict of Supreme Court that made PTI eligible for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in national and provincial assemblies, effectively re-establishing it as a parliamentary party. Despite an 8-5 split, all 13 judges confirmed PTI’s parliamentary status.
Let it be known that majority judgment clarified that 39 of the 80 lawmakers listed by Election Commission as PTI candidates are indeed affiliated with party. The remaining 41 independents must submit signed and notarized statements within 15 days, clarifying their candidacy under a specific political party for the February 8 general elections.
In recent meeting, ECP noted that 39 MNAs recognized as PTI lawmakers had indicated their party affiliation in their nomination papers. However, they had not submitted a party ticket and declaration to the returning officer, making it impossible for them to be officially recognized as PTI candidates at that time.
ECP also explained that 41 candidates declared as independents had neither mentioned PTI in their nomination papers nor submitted any party tickets, hence they were allowed to participate as independent candidates.
This is a developing story…
