Petitioner seeking 50% vote threshold for victory fined

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has imposed a fine of Rs20,000 on a petitioner who approached the court seeking a reinterpretation of the country's election laws to mandate that only a candidate receiving more than 50% of the votes in an election could be declared the winner.

A seven-member Constitutional Bench of the SC led by Justice Aminuddin Khan on Monday heard a number of petitions including one related to election laws.

During the hearing, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar asked the petitioner as to under which constitutional provision it could be mandated that a candidate must secure 50% of the votes to win an election.

He remarked that the decision on a successful candidate is based on the votes cast, and questioned what could be done about those voters who choose not to vote.

Justice Ayesha Malik inquired which fundamental right of the petitioner had been violated and which articles of the Constitution were being breached. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail noted that the Supreme Court had no authority to legislate.

The petitioner argued that all fundamental rights raised in the petition were connected to the question at hand, adding that decisions about their lives were made by parliament.

Justice Aminuddin Khan countered this claim, saying that parliament does not decide people's lives. Justice Musarrat Hilali observed that everyone has the right to vote, but on polling day, many people choose to watch TV rather than cast their votes. She stated that voter apathy was the voters' own shortcoming.

Justice Mandokhail asked the petitioner whether he had cast his vote in the February 2024 elections. The petitioner admitted he had not. "You are then disrespecting the Constitution," the judge said.

The Constitutional Bench later imposed a fine of Rs20,000 on the petitioner for filing a frivolous case.

The petitioner jokingly requested that the fine be increased to at least Rs100 billion to help reduce the national debt. The constitutional bench dismissed the petition.