Less than a week after eight judges of the Supreme Court issued a “clarification” on their ruling in the reserved seats case, the speakers of three assemblies wrote to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) maintaining the apex court’s order was not implementable after the passage of the amended Election Act.
On July 12, a 8-5 majority verdict of the apex court had rejected the Sunni Ittehad Council’s plea for its share in reserved seats for minorities and women and instead granted them to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). In their ruling, the judges had stressed that the PTI was and remained a political party and observed that the ECP had “misinterpreted” an order denying the party an electoral symbol. As PTI-backed candidates had contested as independents and subsequently joined the SIC, the order said the reserved seats rightly belonged to the PTI and granted lawmakers time—beyond law—to confirm their allegiance to the party.
While the ECP had initially designated 39 lawmakers as PTI lawmakers, it had dithered on the status of 41 others, seeking further clarification from the Supreme Court. This clarification came earlier this week, with the court censuring the electoral body for “delaying” implementation of its ruling.
In his letter, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq wrote that the Supreme Court’s July 12 ruling was now “incapable of implementation” after amendments to the Election Act, 2017 became law. He noted that the Supreme Court had directed the ECP to allow independent returned candidates to join another political party months after they had already joined another party after the Feb. 8 general elections.
“In effect, the SC judgment has allowed a returned candidate to switch political parties,” he wrote, adding that subsequently Parliament had adopted the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, which became law after President Asif Ali Zardari assented to it on Aug. 7.
Referring to amendments to section 66 and 104-A, he said these were particularly relevant to the present situation. The amended Section 66 states that any candidate that does not submit a declaration of affiliation with a political party prior to seeking an election symbol shall be “deemed to be considered as an independent candidate and not a candidate of any political party.” Section 104, meanwhile, states that a declaration in support of any party cannot be substituted or withdrawn after submission.
The letter also noted these amendments had retrospective effect from 2017, which had legal precedence as per previous rulings of the Supreme Court.
“In view of this backdrop, it is stated that independent returned candidates who have already given a joining to a political party cannot be allowed to now switch parties in terms of the Amended Election Act which has paramount and overriding effect,” wrote Sadiq, adding the ECP cannot allocate any reserved seats prior to taking this into consideration.
“As the SC judgement was rendered based on the law prior to the enactment of the amendment, the said judgment is now incapable of implementation,” he wrote, stressing the amended law superseded the apex court’s ruling.
Punjab Assembly
In a separate letter, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan wrote that the matter pertained directly to “the principles of parliamentary sovereignty and its vital role in safeguarding the democratic process.” Referring to the Supreme Court ruling, he recalled that it had permitted lawmakers to switch parties after they had already declared affiliation with another party. “The practical implication of this ruling is that returned candidates are now permitted to switch political parties,” he wrote.
Noting Parliament had since passed the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024 with retrospective effect, he also pointed to sections 66 and 104A as key to the present circumstances. “In light of these legislative changes, it is clear that independent returned candidates who have already aligned themselves with a political party cannot now switch their allegiance,” he wrote, stressing it overrode the apex court’s ruling and “must be fully enforced by the ECP.”
“The legal principle is clear: the amended Election Act overrides previous legal interpretations and must be the guiding framework for any further decisions regarding the allocation of reserved seats,” he added.
Sindh Assembly
A day after the letters penned by the NA and Punjab assemblies, Sindh Speaker Syed Awais Qadir Shah also wrote to the ECP, reiterating the supremacy of Parliament and referring to sections 66 and 104A of the amended Elections Act as rendering the apex court’s earlier ruling incapable of implementation.
“In light of the above, the honorable Election Commission of Pakistan must fulfill its obligation of adhering to the laws made by Parliament,” he added.