ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – President Dr Arif Alvi has decided not to convene a session of the National Assembly until the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) completes the allocation of reserved seats.
Sources indicate that despite receiving a summary from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to convene a session, the president has taken the stance that the lower house of parliament will remain incomplete until all parties are assigned the reserved seats.
While the ECP has allocated reserved seats to political parties, it has yet to assign the reserved quota to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), which includes independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The ECP has stated that the matter of reserved seats for the SIC is currently pending with it.
The summary sent by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to the president four days ago has not yet been signed for convening the inaugural session of the National Assembly.
Dr Alvi has neither accepted nor rejected the summary so far; only a verbal stance has been presented.
According to Article 91 of the Constitution, if the president does not sign the summary for convening a session, the speaker of the National Assembly is mandated to convene a session on the 21st day following the elections.
In accordance with this, the speaker can convene the session on February 29, following the general elections held on Feb 8.