Which party gets how many seats after the SC ruling against PTI?

News Desk

Islamabad: In a major blow to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Supreme Court on Friday overturned its earlier ruling and decided that the party is not entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.

A 10-member larger bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, announced the short order allowing multiple review petitions and setting aside the court’s earlier verdict dated July 12, 2024. That verdict had declared PTI eligible for the allocation of reserved seats.

The bench ruled that the appeals filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — the platform joined by PTI-backed independents after the February 8 general elections — were dismissed and the March 2024 verdict of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), which denied the SIC the reserved seats, stands reinstated.

Justice Aminuddin, along with Justices Mussarat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Shahid Bilal Hassan, Hashim Khan Kakar, Aamir Farooq, and Ali Baqar Najafi, concurred with allowing the review petitions.

Justices Mohammad Ali Mazhar and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi also agreed with the review but noted the need for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to verify the affiliation of the 80 returned candidates. Justice Jamal Mandokhail partially allowed the review, modifying his stance on 41 of the 80 seats.

Background of the Case

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in an 8-5 majority that PTI was eligible for the allocation of 77 reserved seats — 67 for women and 10 for minorities — based on the general seats won by its affiliated independent candidates. The decision had overturned both the ECP’s March 1 order and the PHC’s March 25 judgment.

The July 2024 ruling stated that PTI’s lack of an election symbol did not disqualify it from reserved seats. However, the ruling faced strong opposition from the federal government, the ECP, and political parties like the PML-N and PPP, all of whom filed review petitions arguing that the SIC did not meet the legal prerequisites for receiving reserved seats.

Legal and Political Fallout

The allocation of reserved seats is crucial in determining the numerical strength of parties in assemblies. After the February elections, over 80 PTI-backed independents joined the SIC. The party sought reserved seats through this alliance but failed to submit the required priority list of candidates before the constitutional deadline — a key procedural failure cited by the ECP in its rejection.

The ECP maintained that only political parties contesting elections and submitting timely candidate lists could claim reserved seats, as per Article 51(6) of the Constitution. The PHC upheld this view in March 2024, a decision now reaffirmed by the apex court.

Verdict’s Implications

With this ruling, the reserved seats that PTI sought are now distributed among the ruling coalition parties, significantly bolstering their numbers in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.

In the National Assembly, PML-N was awarded 14 seats, PPP five, and JUI-F three, taking their numbers to 125 (PML-N) and 74 (PPP).

In the KP Assembly, JUI-F gained 10, PML-N seven, and ANP one.

In Punjab, PML-N gained 23, PPP two, and IPP and PML-Q one each.

In Sindh, PPP and MQM-P received two and one seats respectively.

Next Steps

The Supreme Court directed the ECP to examine the nomination papers and affiliations of the 80 independent MNAs affiliated with SIC. While the verdict deals a major political setback to PTI, it reinforces the constitutional requirement for procedural compliance in claiming reserved seats.

The verdict also restores the numerical dominance of the ruling coalition in the legislature a development expected to shape the political and legislative course in the months ahead.