SHC seeks replies on pleas against LB polls delay

PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami fear ballot papers, which are with ROs, could be used to rig elections

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has sought written replies from the respondents by August 22 on the petitions filed by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the delay in holding the second phase of local bodies (LB) elections in Sindh.

Appearing before a two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ahmad Ali Sheikh, PTI's counsel Raj Ali Wahid Advocate stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has deliberately postponed the LB elections on July 24.

The metropolitan city had received heavy rains on that day, the court remarked before asking the counsel: "If there were elections during the rain, would you have ventured out to cast your vote?"

Advocate Wahid said that the courts were open that day. "If polling was held, then I would have definitely gone to cast my vote," he responded before adding that the ECP itself had said earlier that the LB elections could not be postponed due to the huge amount of money spent on their arrangements.

Meanwhile, JI counsel Usman Farooq Advocate stated that Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab is using the government machinery for political interests. Wahab should be stopped from using the government machinery, he requested.

The deputy attorney general stated that the Supreme Court will hear an application related to the LB elections on August 15. The JI counsel argued that the LB polls have been rescheduled for August 28.

The chief justice asked the JI counsel if his client wanted the LB elections to be postponed. "We want immediate holding of the municipal elections. The ECP has already sent ballot papers to the returning officers (ROs) which could easily be used to rig the elections," the JI counsel said. Advocate Wahid endorsed the stance seeking the court direction for securing the ballot papers.

The chief justice remarked that the court would examine everything in detail once the parties filed their replies. "We cannot appoint the court Nazir to monitor the ballot papers," he further remarked.

The federal and Sindh governments sought time to submit their responses. At this, the court ordered the parties to submit written replies by August 22.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2022.