Govt, ECP asked to respond to PAT plea by August 20

‘PLGO 2015 denies people right to elect candidates on reserved seats’

LAHORE: Lahore High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the federal and the provincial governments and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on a petition against the Punjab Local Government Ordinance of 2015.

Earlier, Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh admitted the petition filed by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) through its Punjab president Basharat Aziz Jaspal for regular hearing after hearing preliminary arguments from the PAT’s counsel, Advocate Ishtiaq Chaudhry.

The judge fixed the next hearing for August 20.

Advocate Chaudhry submitted in the court that Sections 2, 4 and 8 of the PLGO were repugnant to Articles 25 (equality of citizens), 17 (freedom of association) and 140-A (devolution of fiscal and administrative powers to local governments) of the Constitution.

He said under these sections of the constitution the state was responsible for providing a democratic and efficient government to the people.

He said through the PLGO 2015 the provincial government had denied the people their right to directly elect candidates on seats reserved in the local council for women, workers, youth and minorities.

He stated that an indirect election to these seats would promote corruption.

He said that through the ordinance the government had also denied candidates for reserved seats the right to be directly elected to these seats.

The counsel requested the court to strike down the three sections by declaring them ultra vires to the constitution.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2015.