ECP announces stance on SC’s ruling on SIC reserved seats

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced its stance on the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Sunni Ittehad Council’s appeal seeking a reserved seat denied by the ECP.

Following the historic ruling, the electoral body claimed that it never said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was not a political party.

The ECP said Imran Khan-founded PTI was a political party with its name included in the list of political parties as mentioned on its website. Moreover, it said, the Election Commission had not misconceived any decision, noting that the bat symbol was taken away after PTI’s intra-party elections were not recognized.

In the SC’s detailed decision announced on Friday, as many as 39 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) are declared to be with the PTI.

The Election Commission sources further said the decision of the ECP had been “upheld”. PTI’s intra-party elections were not valid, the logical consequence of which was that the bat symbol was withdrawn from it under Section 215 of the Elections Act.

Furthermore, the ECP has stated that the 41 candidates who were given independent status did not submit any party affiliations, and therefore, could not be considered as party candidates. The commission has also clarified that these independent candidates did not submit any party tickets or declarations.