Standoff averted: Top court, ECP agree on revised LB poll dates
Elections will be held in Sindh on Jan 18 and in Punjab on Jan 30 under new schedule.
Secretary ECP Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan briefs the media about the proposed new schedule of LG polls during a news conference in Islamabad. PHOTO: APP
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan agreed upon a revised schedule for local government elections in Sindh and Punjab on Wednesday, resolving an issue that had threatened to embroil the parliament and the judiciary in a standoff over institutional boundaries.
A day after National Assembly unanimously passed a second resolution demanding the commission to fix a ‘practical’ date for the mammoth exercise, the apex court acknowledged practical and technical difficulties being faced by the commission.
Under the new schedule, elections will be held in Sindh on January 18 and in Punjab on January 30.
“Thus, without making any further observations, the matter stands disposed of [instantly],” observed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry upon receiving ECP’s revised plan for the polls.
The CJP-led bench also accepted the poll body’s assurances on holding local body elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Islamabad Capital Territory and cantonment areas, disposing of a case that had been pending since 2009. According to ECP’s plan, elections in K-P will be held in February, next year.
The bench noted that by assuring them that the polls would be held under the revised plan, the ECP and provincial governments had shown they were committed to the Constitution, and cited this as the reason for not making any further observations on the matter.
In its order, the bench acknowledged the difficulties highlighted by the ECP with regards to holding polls in Sindh and Punjab on the dates fixed earlier. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the electoral body to conduct the elections by November 27 in Sindh and December 7 in Punjab, after the provinces’ respective governments had suggested the dates.
The court order noted, however, that authorities in K-P, despite knowing their constitutional obligations, had filed no request for holding local government elections so far.
Meanwhile during the proceedings, the attorney general informed the court that the federal government had requested the ECP to hold local body polls in cantonment areas. He added that the poll body, in turn, had asked the government to fulfill certain requirements which were in the process of being met.
Despite court orders to the government in this regard, no local body elections have been held in cantonment areas over the past 18 years.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2013.
The Supreme Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan agreed upon a revised schedule for local government elections in Sindh and Punjab on Wednesday, resolving an issue that had threatened to embroil the parliament and the judiciary in a standoff over institutional boundaries.
A day after National Assembly unanimously passed a second resolution demanding the commission to fix a ‘practical’ date for the mammoth exercise, the apex court acknowledged practical and technical difficulties being faced by the commission.
Under the new schedule, elections will be held in Sindh on January 18 and in Punjab on January 30.
“Thus, without making any further observations, the matter stands disposed of [instantly],” observed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry upon receiving ECP’s revised plan for the polls.
The CJP-led bench also accepted the poll body’s assurances on holding local body elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Islamabad Capital Territory and cantonment areas, disposing of a case that had been pending since 2009. According to ECP’s plan, elections in K-P will be held in February, next year.
The bench noted that by assuring them that the polls would be held under the revised plan, the ECP and provincial governments had shown they were committed to the Constitution, and cited this as the reason for not making any further observations on the matter.
In its order, the bench acknowledged the difficulties highlighted by the ECP with regards to holding polls in Sindh and Punjab on the dates fixed earlier. The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the electoral body to conduct the elections by November 27 in Sindh and December 7 in Punjab, after the provinces’ respective governments had suggested the dates.
The court order noted, however, that authorities in K-P, despite knowing their constitutional obligations, had filed no request for holding local government elections so far.
Meanwhile during the proceedings, the attorney general informed the court that the federal government had requested the ECP to hold local body polls in cantonment areas. He added that the poll body, in turn, had asked the government to fulfill certain requirements which were in the process of being met.
Despite court orders to the government in this regard, no local body elections have been held in cantonment areas over the past 18 years.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2013.