Bilawal the next prime Minister

 The furor over the PTI and the outcome of the elections of 2024 entered a new phase with the publication of the Supreme Court's ruling on reserved seats. 

Terming the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) acts 'unlawful", the Supreme Court has put the onus on the ECP for causing prejudice to the PTI by attempting to treat it as a non-entity and classifying its members as independent candidates. 

Thus, the SC has ruled that the ECP has failed to uphold its integrity as a guarantor of the democratic process, undermining it's own role in maintaining the supremacy of the electorate and their preferred choice of party to form government. 

At the heart of the ruling lies the actions of the ECP which have attempted to downplay and to disintegrate the largest political party in the country, refusing even to allocate an election symbol to its members has undermined the democratic process, as well as the ECP's own legitimacy. 

This, in turn, has eroded the public's trust in the democratic process. 

In their ruling, the Supreme Court has affirmed that the PTI remains a parliamentary party, although stating that out of 80 MNAs, 39 belonged to the PTI, giving the other 41 a chance to resubmit their party affiliations. 

Therefore, another constitutional crisis is brewing, and the battle for these 41 MNAs will decide the makeup of the parliament in the coming times. 

It may well see a situation where the PPP can bolster its numbers in Parliament, and where, to see off the elected assembly's five-year term, it installs its own Prime Minister for the latter part of the term, under a power-sharing formula. 

This could mean that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardsri may become the next prime minister of Pakistan. 

Therefore, all the rules and laws enacted to curb horse trading in the assemblies will be given free rein once again, thanks to the actions of the ECP, which, according to the Supreme Court, have sabotaged and undermined the PTI. 

The SC further observed that the case of intra-party elections was an internal matter of the PTI and could not overshadow the fundamental rights of citizens to vote for and choose the party of their choice. 

Once again, the SC has effectively ruled that the ECP has overstepped its authority and sabotaged the election process.