Minister says PML-N, PPP and PTI to get two seats each in electoral reforms panel

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announced on Thursday that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), its coalition partner Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will each get two seats on the proposed Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, based on their representation in the Senate.

The Awami National Party (ANP), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), the National Party and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) will each receive one seat, bringing the Senate’s representation on the proposed committee to 10 members.

In a post on X, Chaudhry said that Deputy Prime Minister and Senate Chairman Ishaq Dar would finalise the names of the committee members after consulting the opposition, government coalition partners and relevant parliamentary leaders.

انتخابی اصلاحات کمیٹی کے لیے سینیٹ میں نشستوں کی تقسیم کے تحت پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ن) اور پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کو دو، دو جبکہ پاکستان تحریک انصاف کو بھی دو نشستیں دی جائیں گی۔ اس کے علاوہ اے این پی، بلوچستان عوامی پارٹی (BAP)، نیشنل پارٹی اور جمعیت علمائے اسلام (ف) کو ایک، ایک نشست…

— Dr. Tariq Fazal Ch. (@DrTariqFazal) November 5, 2026

The announcement came as the PPP finalised its seven-member delegation for the committee, comprising five members of the National Assembly and two senators, and indicated that it expected to be given the committee’s chairmanship.

Senior PPP leader Naveed Qamar said the party had submitted the names of five National Assembly members and two senators to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

The party has nominated Shazia Marri, Abdul Qadir Patel, Sadiq Memon, Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmed Khan and Ali Qasim Gilani from the National Assembly.

Its Senate nominees are Senator Farooq H Naik and Senator Zameer Ghumro.

Qamar said the party had withdrawn the name of Senator Shahadat Awan, who had earlier been proposed as its third Senate nominee, following the decision on the allocation of two Senate seats to each of the three major parties.

“The committee will have seven PPP members,” Qamar said, adding that five seats had been allocated to the party in the National Assembly in proportion to its parliamentary strength.

PPP expects committee chairmanship

Qamar said the government had promised to give the PPP the chairmanship of the parliamentary committee, although the party had yet to decide who would lead it.

He described Farooq H Naik as a senior party leader but said the final decision on the chairperson would be taken by the PPP leadership.

The development suggests the PPP is seeking a leading role in the electoral reform process, which it has been actively pushing to bring the government and opposition together on changes to the country’s electoral framework.

Neither the government nor the PPP has formally announced the committee chairperson.

PTI’s reservations over composition

The formation of the committee has, however, encountered resistance from the PTI, which has questioned whether the proposed arrangement would allow the opposition to play a meaningful role in the deliberations.

The government had earlier approached the PTI through its National Assembly chief whip, Aamir Dogar, seeking nominations for the proposed committee.

Dogar had objected to the initial proposed composition, under which the government was expected to have 15 members against five from the opposition. He argued that such an arrangement would leave the opposition with little influence over the proceedings and called for the government to reconsider the composition of an earlier electoral reforms committee formed between 2013 and 2018.

The opposition has also maintained that joining the committee would be a futile exercise unless its longstanding political demands were addressed.

Dogar had said the PTI would consult opposition leaders before taking a final decision on participation. The government’s latest announcement of two Senate seats for the PTI is a development in the allocation of representation, but it remains unclear whether this will address the party’s broader objections to the committee’s composition.

Push for parliamentary consensus

The proposed committee is part of an initiative led by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to bring parliamentary parties, including the opposition, together to discuss electoral reforms and develop proposals acceptable to all stakeholders.

The National Assembly has approved the formation of a 30-member committee, comprising 20 members from the lower house and 10 from the Senate. Its recommendations are expected to be presented to parliament for consideration.

The government initially approached its key coalition partners, the PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), seeking nominations for the committee before formally contacting the opposition.

The PPP has also been holding consultations with opposition leaders to encourage their participation. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had urged National Assembly Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai to use the authority delegated to him by PTI founder Imran Khan to nominate opposition representatives to parliamentary committees.

PPP delegations subsequently met Achakzai and Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, inviting them to participate in the electoral reforms process.

The party has argued that parliamentary engagement is necessary to build consensus on changes to the electoral system and strengthen public confidence in future elections. 

The committee’s final composition, terms of reference and chairmanship are yet to be formally announced. The participation of the PTI, in particular, will be crucial to the government’s stated objective of securing cross-party agreement on electoral reforms.