ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) submitted a contempt of court petition on Monday against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failing to implement the Supreme Court's orders regarding the allocation of reserved seats.
PTI leader and senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja filed the petition, naming ECP members, including Chairman Sikandar Sultan Raja, as respondents.
The petition demands that the ECP be directed to enforce the Supreme Court’s verdict promptly and seeks action against the commission's members for non-compliance.
The plea emphasizes that, based on the Supreme Court’s ruling, PTI is entitled to reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies proportional to the seats it won.
On July 12, the Supreme Court ruled in PTI's favor, confirming its eligibility for reserved seats and allowing the party to return to parliament.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict, which overruled a prior Peshawar High Court (PHC) order supporting the ECP’s decision to deny these seats to PTI and its affiliate, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Initially, PTI candidates did not contest the elections under a unified symbol, instead aligning with SIC, which led to the ECP’s decision against granting them reserved seats.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that the absence of a common symbol does not affect a party’s constitutional right to participate in elections and that the ECP must uphold statutory provisions.
The Supreme Court’s decision also nullified the PHC's March 25 judgment and deemed the ECP’s March 1 decision unconstitutional and without legal effect.
The court affirmed that PTI, as a political party founded by Imran Khan, has both legal and constitutional rights to reserved seats in legislative assemblies.
