Two identical petitions were filed in the Sindh High Court on the election commission’s decision to hold by-elections on four provincial assembly seats in Karachi. PHOTO: FILE
The court reserved its judgment on Tuesday in a petition challenging the election commission’s decision to hold by-polls in Karachi and Thatta even though the law officers questioned their legality.
Two identical petitions were filed in the Sindh High Court on the election commission’s decision to hold by-elections on four provincial assembly seats in Karachi, namely PS-101, PS-103, PS-113 and PS-115, and PS-84 in Thatta-I on February 18. The six petitioners claimed to be registered voters of these constituencies. Since voter verification is still underway, it is unclear if the by-elections would be held in accordance with the “updated electoral rolls” or not, said Abid S. Zuberi, the petitioners’ lawyer.
He argued that since the new electoral rolls have not been prepared, polling cannot be conducted as per the apex court’s order on December 5. Haq Nawaz Talpur, the lawyer representing petitioner Zafar Ali Shah, said that the elections at this time will be a waste of time and money, since elected representative would not be able to serve for more than five weeks. On Tuesday, deputy attorney general Ashraf Mughal said it is the discretion of the election commission to announce the poll schedule.
Additional advocate general Miran Muhammad Shah said that the election commission had announced the schedule late and this should have been done earlier, according to the constitution.The bench, headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam, reserved its order. The verdict will be announced on February 8.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2013.
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