Legal experts say 90-day constitutional limit still stands

LAHORE:

Legal experts have opined that the prerequisite of delimitation under the latest census does not have any overriding effect on the constitutional requirement of holding elections within 90 days – in case of early dissolution of the National Assembly – and sensed mala fide in approval of digital census at this stage.

Some experts even suggest that this delay may have been intended to allow ruling parties to enact damage control measures.

Meanwhile, the adviser to the prime minister and the caretaker chief minister of Punjab have claimed that delaying the 90-day limit does not constitute a violation and that the government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have complete authority in this matter.

According to Article 224 of the Constitution of Pakistan, elections are to be held within 60 days upon completion of its tenure while subsection 2 of the said article states: “When the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly is dissolved, a general election to the Assembly shall be held within a period of ninety days after the dissolution, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than fourteen days after the conclusion of the polls.”

Furthermore, the census is also a constitutional requirement as outlined in Article 51(5), which states, "The seats in the National Assembly shall be allocated to each Province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and the Federal Capital on the basis of population in accordance with the last preceding census officially published."

Considering that the government has already announced that the number of seats in the National Assembly will remain the same, any changes to the composition would have created a further deadlock. Article 51(3) defines the seat composition of the National Assembly.

However, the fact that the population has risen in such a manner that does away the need to change the seat composition, has worried political experts who have taken the result with a grain of salt.

Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed commented that ideally, the delimitation process, which is a constitutional requirement, should be completed within the available time period. He acknowledged that even if more time was needed, it would likely be availed considering the fate of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He mentioned that the requirement to hold elections within 90 days remains, but those who have successfully delayed elections in the past without facing consequences may attempt to do so again.

He stated that the only potential hurdle would have been if seat allocation had been changed, necessitating a constitutional amendment to Article 51(3).

Furthermore, he expressed doubts about the population increase and the seat allocation remaining the same, remarking that it was difficult to digest.

'Census results looked manufactured’

PILDAT President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said that strictly looking at the way the population has risen in the country as per the digital census, it was difficult to believe the results as they “looked manufactured”. He said that the matter of holding elections in 90 days will most probably land in the court as the need to hold the election in the time frame stated in Article 224 stays there.

He said it seems that the election would be delayed by six months.

Former federal law minister Khalid Ranjha said that holding elections in 90 days is a constitutional prerequisite and article 51 has no overriding effect on it. He said this was a question of law, which would be decided by the court.

Justice Shaiq Usmani said Article 51 (5) demanded elections be held in accordance with the new census, and in this case, the digital census was the last consensus under the latest elections. However, it didn't say anything about delaying the time of the elections. He said what has been happening in the past four or five months, cast doubt over the ability and integrity of politicians.

He reiterated that ECP has to conform to Article 51 (5).

Senior lawyer and SAPM on legal reforms Irfan Qadir said that courts have nothing to do with it, adding the matter was for ECP to settle and the government and they shall decide what time was best suited. He said 90 days provision is what courts failed to execute, so the same will repeat.

However, he clarified that going beyond ninety days would not mean violating the constitution, times lines should be viewed as aspirations and ideals of the constitution but if there are circumstances beyond control then there is nothing wrong with it and they will be valid.

Former secretary ECP and advisor to CM Punjab, the delay will be covered under Article 254 and said that holding elections under the latest census was a constitutional provision which will take precedence over the later article that talks about holding elections in 90 days.Asked whether the government should not approach the court to seek clarity on the issue, he said it was a good observation and workable advice.