ECP suspends notification of Mohan Manjiani as MNA on reserved seat
Pakistan
ECP suspends notification of Mohan Manjiani
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday suspended the notification of Mohan Manjiani as an MNA on reserved seat.
The ECP notification reads: “Pursuant to the Order of Election Commission of Pakistan dated 28th February 2024, the operation of Notification regarding Seats Reserved for Non-Muslims in the National Assembly of Pakistan No.F.5(1)t2024-Cord dated 23 February 2024 is hereby suspended to the extent of Mohan Manjiani till further orders of the Election Commission of Pakistan.”
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ruled against allocating reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) which is composed of independent candidates who won the election with PTI's support.
The decision, which was reserved last Wednesday after hearing arguments from all sides, was announced with a 4-1 majority by a five-member bench led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja. ECP’s Punjab member, Hassan Bharwana, dissented with the majority verdict.
In its ruling, the ECP stated that the SIC was not entitled to reserved seats due to "non-curable legal defects and violation of the mandatory provision requiring the submission of party lists for reserved seats."
The Sunni Ittehad Council had filed four pleas with the ECP seeking reserved seats for minorities and women in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The seats in the National Assembly shall not remain vacant and will be allotted through a proportional representation process based on seats won by political parties,” the order stated.
