PESHAWAR: Awami National Party has petitioned Election Commission of Pakistan to suspend its March 2, 2024, notification on reserved seats and recalculate the number of those seats in the view of the changed composition of party representation in the provincial assembly.

In March 2024 when the ECP notified reserved seats for women and minorities, the ANP had just one member in the provincial assembly. However, its another member was elected in a Bajaurby-poll.

A petition filed by lawyer Babar Khan Yousafzai with the provincial election commissioner on behalf of ANP provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the ANP currently had two elected MPAs in KP.

According to it, one MPA was elected during the 2024 general elections and the second in a by-election.

Moves ECP, insisting demand in line with seat allocation formula

“As per the ECP’s notification dated March 4, 2024, the ANP was allocated only one reserved seat for women based on its status in the house at that time. However, now, as the ANP holds two general seats, its entitlement to reserved seats must be recalculated under Article 106 of the Constitution and Section 104 of the Election Act, 2017,” it noted.

The petition added that based on the ECP’s own formula (general seats ÷ quota = reserved seats), the ANP was entitled to at least two reserved seats for women in the provincial assembly.

It said that the party’s longstanding commitment to women’s representation and constitutionalism further justified its rightful claim to reserved seats under the law.

“The ECP’s earlier allocation was based on the then general seat count, allocating only one reserved seat to ANP. However, with the by-election victory, the party’s general seat count has increased to two, mandating a revised allocation in line with the proportional representation formula,” it said.

In the petition, the ANP said that the ECP’s action followed a Supreme Court judgement, which declared only parties with general-seat representation to be eligible for reserved seats, so it fulfilled that criterion with two general seats, strengthening its legal standing for at least two reserved seats.

It said that the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court recently dismissed petitions by the PTI/SIC, reaffirming that parties without general seats are ineligible for reserved slots, and directed the ECP to re-examine all nominations and affiliations de novo, emphasising that allocation must comply with constitutional and legal mandates.

The ANP noted that Minister of State for Law and Justice Aqeel Malik publicly confirmed that Articles 51 and 106 of the Constitution require strict proportional allocation to legally represented parties, excluding those that did not contest general seats.

“The ANP’s claim is fully supported by current constitutional interpretation,” it said.

The ANP said that ECP’s March 2024 notification stood in clear contradiction to the binding Supreme Court judgement.

It said that the by-election victory changes the general seat count, entitling ANP to at least two reserved seats under ECP’s own allocation formula while the June 2025 verdict further mandated ECP perform a fresh allocation, reinforcing that ineligibility of non-general seat parties is on firm legal footing.

“Our claim for one reserved women’s seat is legally ironclad based on the ECP’s own formula and judicial precedent,” it said.

The ANP said that in light of those facts, the March 2024 notification regarding reserved women’s seats in the KP Assembly be immediately withheld and suspended and the ECP conduct a fresh, de novo review of all nomination papers and reserved seat allocations in compliance with the Supreme Court’s June 2025 ruling, ensuring ANP receives its lawful reserved seat.

It also requested the ECP to allocate at least two reserved women seats to it, reflecting its entitlement under prevailing laws.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025