Elections: IHC summons ECP over women’s quota issue

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has summoned the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over the non-allocation of 5 per cent quota for women by political parties for the upcoming general election scheduled for February 8, 2024.

The high court summoned the poll body on a petition filed by Naeem Ahmed Mirza, the executive director of the Women Foundation, who sought the court’s direction to the ECP to decide his pending application.

The petitioner said that he had filed an application with the ECP, urging it to act in accordance with the law and ensure that the political parties observe the 5 per cent women quota in awarding tickets to their candidates; however, the ECP had not taken any action on his application till date.

The IHC issued a notice to the ECP for tomorrow and directed it to be served by a special messenger at the expense of the petitioner. The court also ordered the office to inform the ECP telephonically.

The petitioner cited a letter written by the Women Foundation to the ECP, in which it had informed the commission about the failure of the major political parties to award 5 per cent tickets to their female candidates and had demanded legal action against them.

Earlier, the Women’s Foundation had brought to the attention of the ECP the failure of major political parties to allocate 5 percent of their tickets to female candidates and demanded legal action against them.

In the National Assembly, an analysis revealed that several parties including the PPP, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the Awami National Party (ANP), the Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), the JUI-F, and the BNP did not meet the requirement of allocating at least 5 percent of their tickets to women for general seats.

Conversely, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) complied with the quota, with more than 5 percent of their tickets awarded to female candidates for the National Assembly.

In the Punjab Assembly, findings indicate that PML-N, PPPP, JI, MQM, and TLP did not fulfill the requirement of allocating 5 percent of their tickets to women. Notably, the PML-N, despite its national performance, also fell short in this regard at the provincial level.

Similar trends were observed in the Sindh Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and Balochistan Assembly, where various parties failed to meet the 5 percent quota for female candidates on general seats. The issue underscores the ongoing struggle for gender parity and representation within Pakistan’s political landscape.