LHC seeks govt reply on plea seeking polls in 90 days

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday sought a reply from the federal government by Oct 19 on a plea challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) notification for conducting delimitation of constituencies.
The petitioner, Muhammad Muqsit Saleem, argued that this process would cause a delay in elections beyond the statutory period of 90 days, as mandated by the Elections Act.

During the hearing, presided over by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, the ECP requested the dismissal of the plea, arguing that the petitioner was not a concerned party. Meanwhile, Justice Sheikh also summoned the attorney general for Pakistan to assist the court.

The petitioner prayed the court to declare the ECP's notification, issued on Aug 17, as unconstitutional.
He further requested that the relevant authorities should cease following the unconstitutional directives of the notification and take legitimate steps to ensure elections were conducted within 90 days, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

He also sought the suspension of the notification's execution until a decision was reached.

The petitioner stated that the notification, granting extensive powers for delimitation, would delay elections beyond the 90-day limit stipulated by Article 224 of the Constitution and Section 17(2) of the Elections Act.

According to him, the constituencies' limits were already published by the commission on Aug 5 last year.

The caretaker government's role was to oversee the country's administration leading up to the general elections, ensuring they were free, fair, and transparent, as well as maintaining law and order during the electoral process, he stated.

However, if the elections were not held within the constitutionally specified timeframe, the caretaker government's mandate should typically end.

Given the current political climate, resolving any legal or constitutional issues without close scrutiny was challenging, the petitioner argued.

The Constitution provides for both 90-day and 60-day election periods. Article 224(1) states that a general election to the national or provincial assembly must occur within 60 days of the assembly's term expiration. Article 224(2) stipulates that when the National Assembly or a provincial assembly is dissolved, a general election must be held within 90 days of the dissolution, with results declared no later than 14 days after the polls close.