In the midst of ongoing political uncertainty caused by the February 8 election results, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ruled on Tuesday that political parties without electoral symbols will not be allocated reserved seats in the National Assembly.
The ECP's statement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) baked candidates have emerged as the largest group, winning more than 90 National Assembly seats, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which have 75 and 54 seats, respectively.
According to the ECP's statement, the reserved seats, which total 70 and are dedicated to women and minorities, will be allotted in accordance with the Election Act of 2017 and distributed among political parties in a proportion that is proportional to their respective representation in the assemblies if the winning independent candidates fail to join any party.
The development is expected to have serious consequences for the PTI, whose candidates had to run in an independent capacity after the party lost its "bat" electoral symbol owing to irregularities in intra-party elections.
With no political party able to secure a simple majority, the field is now open for the PTI, PML-N, and PPP to form alliances to secure the necessary numbers to form a government at the center, which requires a minimum of 169 seats in the National Assembly, the 336-member lower house of parliament.
With the PTI not even on the list of electoral symbols sent to Returning Officers (ROs) prior to the polls, the party is looking to form alliances with other parties in order to capitalize on its February 8 electoral victories by requiring its candidates to join another party, as independent candidates cannot form a government or be eligible for a share of reserved seats.
According to PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan, the party plans to collaborate with the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to achieve its reserved seats in the NA.
Furthermore, Hasan stated that the PTI intends to build governments in both the Centre and Punjab in collaboration with the Majlis-e-Wahdat-Muslimeen.