ECP whirrs into action after LHC poll orders

CEC summons high-level meeting tomorrow to discuss implementation of court orders

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday set into motion the process to deliberate over and finalise the schedule of the Punjab Assembly elections in light of the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) orders to hold polls immediately.

In a statement, the election watchdog said Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja has summoned a high-level meeting on February 13 (Monday) at the commission’s secretariat.

The meeting will review the decision of the Lahore High Court and will decide its future course of action and the implementation of the verdict for holding the general election to the provincial assembly.

The poll supervisory body has been facing louder calls to announce the date for elections, chiefly from the PTI and, more recently, also from President Dr Arif Alvi who urged the commission to immediately issue the election schedule for Punjab and K-P provincial assemblies.

In a letter addressed to CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja today, President Alvi said that the election of an assembly is to be held within 90 days of the dissolution as provided by Article 224 (2) of the Constitution.

On Friday, the LHC ordered the ECP to immediately announce the date of elections to the Punjab Assembly after consultation with the governor, in his capacity as the constitutional head of the province, to ensure that polls were held not later than 90 days as per the mandate of the Constitution.

Justice Jawad Hassan passed the order allowing petitions of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and others, seeking directions for the governor and ECP to immediately announce a date for general elections in the province, since the assembly had been dissolved.

The judgement said that Article 105 of the Constitution makes it quite clear that it covers two eventualities — the first eventuality deals with the situation where on the advice of the chief minister, the governor exercises his constitutional power to dissolve the assembly while second eventuality deals with a situation where on such advice by the chief minister, he (governor) abstains from exercising his constitutional powers and the assembly stands dissolved by the operation of the law.