PTI Files Petition in Supreme Court Against Election Amendment Act 2024

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formally challenged the Election Amendment Act 2024 in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The party, represented by its chairman Barrister Gohar, filed a constitutional petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, urging the court to declare the amendment act null and void, labeling it as unconstitutional and illegal.

In the petition, PTI has named the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan as parties to the case. The party has also sought an immediate injunction to prevent the Election Commission from allocating reserved seats to other political parties. PTI asserts that it has already submitted the required lists for women and minority reserved seats to the Election Commission and claims these seats as its legal right, following the Supreme Court’s July 12 verdict.

The National Assembly (NA) recently approved the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024, which was presented by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani. The bill proposes amendments to the Elections Act 2017, aiming to prevent lawmakers from changing their party affiliation after winning an election and stipulating that reserved seats cannot be allotted to a party that did not win any seats in the general election.

The passage of the bill faced significant opposition, with opponents protesting and tearing copies of the house agenda.

The recent Supreme Court decision, announced by a 13-member bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled in favor of PTI’s eligibility for reserved seats, countering the Election Commission’s previous decision. The ruling was passed with an 8-5 majority, setting aside the Peshawar High Court’s order which upheld the Election Commission’s decision.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah delivered the majority verdict, with Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Ameenuddin Khan opposing the decision.