Supreme Court of Pakistan Urged to Direct ECP to Announce Date for General Elections

Key Highlights :

1. The Supreme Court has been urged to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan to forthwith announce the date for general elections under Article 224(2) of the Constitution.

2. The delay in the approval of the digital census less than a week prior to the dissolution of the National and the two provincial assemblies created a constitutional dilemma which is required to be resolved by the Supreme Court.

3. Holding of elections within a period of 90 days of dissolution of assemblies is a salient feature of the Constitution and any delay in the con­duct of general elections beyond the mandatory period of 90 days as mandated the Constitution is illegal.

4. The petitioners urged the Court to declare that the impugned decision of CCI and the notification of the census are blatantly illegal, in violation of Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 17, 51, 153, 154 and 224 of the Consti­tution, 1973as well as judgments of this Honourable Court.

5. The ECP can­not initiate the process of delimita­tion under the Election Act, 2017 as well as Rule(s) 7 and 8 of the Elec­tion Rules, 2017 as there is no seat allocation based on the impugned decision of the CCI as delimitation of constituencies of the National As­sembly can only be carried out af­ter allocation of seats on the basis of the last preceding census.

     The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has been urged to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to forthwith announce the date for general elections under Article 224(2) of the Constitution. This was done through a constitutional petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), through its secretary and members on Wednesday.

     The petition stated that the CCI, which also included caretaker chief minis­ters of the Punjab and Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa (KP), had unanimously approved the digital census 2023 on 05-08-2023, less than a week prior to the dissolution of the National and the two provincial assemblies. This created a constitutional dilemma which needs to be resolved by the Supreme Court.

     The petitioners argued that holding of elections within a period of 90 days of dissolution of assemblies is a salient feature of the Consti­tution and any delay in the con­duct of general elections beyond the mandatory period of 90 days as mandated the Constitution is illegal.

     The petitioners further argued that the ECP cannot initiate the process of delimita­tion under the Election Act, 2017 as well as Rule(s) 7 and 8 of the Elec­tion Rules, 2017 as there is no seat allocation based on the impugned decision of the CCI as delimitation of constituencies of the National As­sembly can only be carried out af­ter allocation of seats on the basis of the last preceding census.

     The SCBA urged the Court to declare that the impugned decision of CCI and the notification of the census are blatantly illegal, in violation of Articles 4, 5, 6, 9, 17, 51, 153, 154 and 224 of the Consti­tution, 1973as well as judgments of this Honourable Court; and set it aside.

     The Supreme Court also disposed of a petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman regarding the recounting of votes in NA-131 Lahore constituency while declaring the case ineffective. A division bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandi­al heard the case filed by the former prime minister. The court, however, disposed of the case as the petition had become ineffective after dissolution of the National Assembly.

     It is important to note that the Supreme Court of Pakistan has been urged to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the date for general elections in order to ensure that the elections are held within the mandatory period of 90 days as mandated by the Constitution. It is now up to the Supreme Court to decide on the matter and ensure that the elections are held in a timely manner.

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