-Election Commission declares Batool Zain, Saira Raza, Fouzia Abbas Naseem, Habkook Rafiq Babbu and Samuel Yaqoob as returned candidates
By Makhdoom
Shehryar Babar
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday notified PTI members on five reserved seats in Punjab in line with the directions of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
“The ECP is pleased to declare — Habkook Rafiq Babbu and Samuel Yaqoob — as returned candidates on seats reserved for non-Muslims in the provincial assembly of Punjab, which fell vacant due to de-notification of Ijaz Masih and Haroon Imran Gill vide ECP’s Notification No. F. 17(2)/2022-Cord. (3) dated May 23, 2022,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, the election commission also declared Batool Zain, Saira Raza, and Fouzia Abbas Naseem as returned candidates on the seats reserved for women in the provincial assembly of Punjab, which fell vacant due to the de-notification of Uzma Kardar, Aisah Nawaz, and Sajida Yousaf, respectively. On June 27, the LHC directed the ECP to notify the members to the Punjab Assembly’s reserved seats after accepting a plea registered by the PTI.
The PTI had approached the LHC against the ECP’s decision deferring the issuance of a notification on the reserved assembly seats till the by-elections on 20 vacant seats were over.
The Punjab Assembly has a total of 371 members, of which 20 seats are vacant at the moment and are up for re-polling on July 17. This brings the total number of MPAs in the Punjab Assembly down to 351. The ruling PML-N has the majority of 165 members. However, four of its MPAs had previously rebelled against the party leadership, of which two are still undecided about staying with the PML-N. This leaves the PML-N with only 163 MPAs.
On the other side is the Opposition, therefore the PTI, which is 158 MPAs strong at the moment. But if allotted the five reserved seats after the orders of the LHC, the PTI will also bring up its numbers to 163. In the House, there are five independents, of which Chaudhry Nisar, the former interior minister, is unlikely to vote. While the PPP has 7 MPAs, PML-Q has 10 and the Rah-e-Haq party has one.
