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ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday issued a notification announcing winners of reserved seats for women and minorities, according to which, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) attained a simple majority in the National Assembly with a total of 185 seats, DawnNews reported.
The PML-N was allotted 35 out of the 60 seats reserved for women and six out of the 10 seats reserved for minorities in the NA, which increased its total number of seats to 185, which allows the party a simple majority, according to an ECP spokesperson.
Similarly, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) now have a total of 40 seats after being allocated seven seats for women and one minority seat. Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf’s (PTI) seats increased to 35 seats in the NA, after being given six seats for women and one minority seat.
Moreover, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was allotted four women seats and one minority seat and now has a total of 23 seats in the NA. Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan – Fazl (JUI-F) has 14 NA seats in total after it was allotted three seats for women and one seat for minorities.
The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), National People’s Party (NPP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Pakistan Muslim League – Functional (PML-F) was allotted one seat each out of the 60 reserved seats for women.
The PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) are currently tied in the race for one reserved NA seat from Punjab. The successful candidate would be decided by a toss.
The ECP has asked PML-N to submit names of candidates for nine reserved seats in the NA and seven in Punjab Assembly by May 29. At present, ECP only has names of 23 women for the reserved seats for women allotted to PML-N.
The reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the NA are proportionally distributed between the parties on the basis of the total number of general seats won by each party. The NA has 342 seats in total, with 60 seats reserved for women and 10 seats reserved for the minorities.
The notification issued by ECP also detailed the numbers of reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in all four provincial assemblies.
