ECP set to file review plea on SC's landmark verdict on reserved seats
Pakistan
Election Commission of Pakistan has changed its earlier stance of accepting SC decision
A 13-member full court bench last month announced verdict in favour of PTI
CJP Qazi Faez Isa was among the four judges who opposed reserved seats for PTI
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to file a review petition regarding the Supreme Court's decision on reserved seats in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) favour.
Sources indicate that the Election Commission will file the review petition today (Wednesday).
Last month, a 13-member full court bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa delivered a verdict on the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) petition related to reserved seats.
Justices Aminuddin Khan and Naeem Afghan had dissented from the majority decision.
The Supreme Court had annulled the decisions of the Peshawar High Court and the Election Commission, ordering that the reserved seats be allocated to the PTI.
ECP'S EARLIER STANCE
Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided to act upon the Supreme Court decision regarding reserved seats for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates.
The decision was taken after a series of meetings presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.
The ECP chief advised its legal team to take into account the imperative to act on the apex court's decision.
A LANDMARK VERDICT
Going against the grain of its previous decisions regarding the PTI in the run-up to Feb 8 election, the apex court overturned the Peshawar High Court's verdict of depriving the PTI of the reserved seats of non-Muslim and women candidates in assemblies.
The apex court, in its majority 8-5 decision, announced that the conduct of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the reserved seats was 'unconstitutional', adding that the PTI would remain intact as a political party even without being assigned an election symbol.
The verdict was authored by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.
Justices Athar Minallah, Mansoor Ali Shah, Muneeb Akhtar, Ayesha Malik, Irfan Saadat, Shahid Waheed, Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Ali Mazhar decided in favour of the PTI.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan and Justice Aminuddin Khan favoured against the PTI.
Besides, Justice Yahya Afridi wrote a dissenting note.
