ISLAMABAD: In a big boost to the ruling coalition and setback to the PTI, the reserved seats saga ended officially on Wednesday, with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issuing a notification on the subject.
It means the ruling coalition has two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, enabling it to introduce even constitutional changes, if and when required.
With the latest additions, the ruling coalition now has 235 seats in a House of 333, with the opposition limited to just 98.
Actually, it is the culmination of the drama that began with the Supreme Court’s July 12, 2024 judgment, as the ECP notified the list of legislators joining the assemblies after a five-member Constitutional Bench decided in favour of petitioners – PML-N, PPP and ECP – who had sought a review.
As the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench determined that the PTI is not entitled to the reserved seats in national and provincial legislatures, the ECP notification was just a formality.
BREACH IN PTI STRONGHOLD
A big change has come in the composition of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, where the opposition parties are now occupying all the reserved seats, both for women and minorities.
Hence, 21 reserved seats for women are distributed in a way that the JUI-F have benefitted the most with gain of eight. It is followed by PML-N six, PPP five and one each for the PTI Parliamentarians and the ANP.
Similarly, two of the four reserved seats for minorities has been allotted to the Maulana-led party, with one each for the PML-N and the PML-N.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on which the incarcerated Imran Khan has been relying heavily, sends five women members to the National Assembly on reserved seats. However, the ECP notification shows that the PML-N and the PPP have run away with two each, while the JUI-F is able one to its tally.
When it comes to Punjab, the most-populated province of the country has again proved to be gravitational force for the PML-N. It has begged 10 out of the 11 women reserved seats in the National Assembly, with the remaining one going to the PPP.
Meanwhile, the troika of PML-N, PPP and JUI-F has chipped in with one each in the case of three reserved seats in the National Assembly.
These figures make it clear that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has achieved more room to play with less reliance on the coalition partners.
PUNJAB IS YOURS
Although there is no threat to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s government, the political scion of elder Sharif, she is actually the biggest gainer in terms of number.
Why? Because the PML-N has gained 23 reserved seats – 21 women and two minorities – in the Punjab Assembly.
Meanwhile, the remaining three women sets have been allocated to PPP, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and PML-Q.
At the same time, the PPP has added another seat to its tally by sending a member on minority seats to the Punjab Assembly.
PPP’S SINDH
On the other hand, the PPP has added two and the MQM one in Sindh Assembly, as only three reserved seats were in question in the Sindh Assembly.
