Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has announced an alliance with the Sunni Etihad Council to get specific seats in the National Assembly and the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies, which is actually tantamount to affiliation.
PTI members have already submitted their affidavits on two stamp papers stating that they are joining the Sunni Unity Council after being elected as independents. According to PTI’s Barrister Gohar, these affidavits were being submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday itself.
However, there is a technical question regarding this alliance.
Sahibzada Hamid Raza, the head of the Sunni Ittehad Council, has himself been elected as an independent candidate. He has won National Assembly Constituency NA 104 from Faisalabad by defeating Raja Riaz’s son Daniyal Ahmed.
Sahibzada Hamid Raza had the support of PTI, but he fought the elections not on the election symbol of Ittehad Council, but on the election symbol Minar as an independent and won.
According to the election rules, independent candidates can join an existing party in the assembly. That is why the PTI had earlier decided to join the Majlis Wahdat al-Muslimeen which has won one seat in the National Assembly.
The Election Commission of Pakistan refused to allot election symbols to the PTI and the decision was upheld by the Supreme Court, hence the PTI-backed candidates had to contest as independents.
Despite being successful in independent status, PTI members are not considered part of a party because as per Election Rules 2017, a political party is only one which has been allotted an election symbol.
The Sunni Ittehad Council meets the definition of a political party in Rule No. 94 of the Election Rules, 2017. In this sense, the position of Sunni Ittehad Council is better than that of PTI.
After joining the Sunni Unity Council, PTI members will be considered as members of the Sunni Unity Council and based on their total number, the Sunni Unity Council will apply for specific seats. If the Election Commission approves the applications of PTI members, the Sunni Ittehad Council will become the largest party in the National Assembly.
But since Sahibzada Hamid Raza himself was elected as an independent, some strings are still in the hands of the Election Commission in this important political strategy.