ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to hold an open hearing on the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) application seeking allotment of reserved seats
As per detail, a full bench of the ECP will hear the case tomorrow, after which a final decision will be announced. The nature of the dispute surrounding the seat allocation for the SIC remains unclear at this time.
Earlier, the Sunni Ittehad Council had formally approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) with a request for reserved seats in both the National and Provincial Assemblies.
In a detailed written communication from Sahibzada Hamid Raza, the Chairman of the Sunni Ittehad Council, the Commission had been urged to allocate reserved seats based on the affiliation of independent candidates.
The letter outlines that a significant number of independent candidates have affiliated themselves with the Sunni Ittehad Council. Specifically, 87 independent candidates from the National Assembly, 107 from the Punjab Assembly, 90 from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and 9 from the Sindh Assembly have joined the council’s ranks.
Highlighting these figures, the letter emphasizes the need for proportional representation in the national and provincial assemblies based on the success of these independent candidates who have aligned with the Sunni Ittehad Council. The electoral watchdog’s Research and Implementation (R&I) branch has received the documentation from the Sunni Ittehad Council and has assigned a diary number to the request, indicating the formal initiation of the process
