Incomplete ECP cannot conduct polls: MQM-P

Petition says notification issued by commission be declared void

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court has issued notices to the Attorney General of Pakistan, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and others on the petition of Muttahida Qaumi Moment Pakistan (MQM-P) regarding the legality of the ECP.

A bench headed by Justice Junaid Ghaffar heard the petition of MQM-P regarding the legality of the ECP. MQM-P counsel Tariq Mansoor Advocate argued that the ECP members were not complete and therefore it should not make decisions regarding the local body elections.

The notification issued by the Election Commission on April 29 should be declared null and void. Decisions by the ECP including the schedule of local body elections, jurisdiction of district councils and others should be declared illegal.

The court refused to immediately suspend the notification. Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar remarked that there was a delay in approaching the court. "Notifications were issued in the early days of April and May. The court has been approached during the holidays. The application should have been filed on time. We have issued notices to the parties but we cannot issue a restraining order," the court remarked.

The court issued notice to the parties on the petition and sought reply from the Attorney General of Pakistan, ECP and others. The constitutional petition was filed by MPA Kunwar Naveed Jamil and former chairmen of district municipal corporations.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2022.