- Electoral watchdog, in letters to Governor Kundi and CM Gandapur, says reserved seats MPAs can’t vote in Senate polls until sworn in
- Voting for Senate elections in the province scheduled to be held on July 21
ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the upcoming Senate polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has informed the province’s governor and chief minister that the notified members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) on the reserved seats cannot take part in the assembly session or vote in Senate polls if not administered the oath.
ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan wrote letters to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, urging that an assembly session be called immediately for oath-taking of the returned candidates to ensure the completion of the electoral college.
He said the electoral body is under a constitutional obligation to conduct the Senate elections in KP, for which the date has been set for July 21. But he noted that the matter of administering the oath to returned candidates was still pending and delayed.
Citing the SC constitutional bench’s verdict, he stated that on July 2, 2025, a notification of successful candidates on reserved seats for women and non-Muslims was issued, but these members have not yet been sworn in, so they cannot participate in the assembly session or vote.
The ECP secretary pointed out that earlier, the KP Assembly speaker was requested on July 4 to administer the oath to the members elected on reserved seats. The speaker informed us that the assembly session is not currently underway; he cannot call a session.
The ECP secretary maintained that, according to Article 109 of the Constitution, the governor has the power to summon a session of the provincial assembly at his discretion. “In light of the above constitutional and legal imperatives, I have been directed by the Hon’ble ECP to request his Excellency, the Governor of KP, to exercise the powers conferred under Article 109 of the Constitution and to summon the session of the Provincial Assembly at the earliest to ensure administration of oath by the Speaker from the elected members on the reserved seats and for the conduct of Senate election in the province,” reads the letter.
In the letter to the chief minister, he said that in view of the constitutional and legal imperatives, the commission has also requested the KP governor to invoke his powers conferred upon him under Article 109 of the Constitution to summon the provincial assembly to meet for administration of the oath to the members-elect of the reserved seats for women and non-Muslims for completion of the electoral college for the ensuing Senate election and enabling them to cast their votes.
The secretary also referred to the fact that the Peshawar High Court Peshawar has already passed the judgment dated 27-03-2024 in W.P No 1617-P/2024 case titled Shazia Tamash Khan etc. versus Federation of Pakistan etc. (which is still in the field), whereby directions have been issued to the Chief Minister of KP and the provincial cabinet to take all material steps in terms of Article 105 of the Constitution for summoning the session and administering the oath to the returned candidates on the reserved seats for women and non-Muslims.
In view of the above, he wrote, “The commission considers it appropriate to request the chief minister to issue advice to the governor for summoning the KP Assembly in terms of Article 105 read with Article 130 of the Constitution immediately to ensure the administration of the oath by the Speaker to the elected members on reserved seats to carry out the conduct of Senate election in the province.”
