Court strikes down SLGA amendments

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday struck down amendments made in the Sindh Local Government Act (SLGA) 2013, delivering a severe blow to the provincial government.

The ruling was welcomed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and 16 other petitioners who opposed the amendments but was questioned by the Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government. Leaders of the ruling party said they would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.

The two-judge bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, set aside the delimitation proposals published in the official gazette for Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Mirpurkhas. “The entire delimitation exercise carried out by the delimitation officers is declared to have been conducted in violation of Sections 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013 and the guidelines issued by the Government,” the bench ruled.

In its 78-page ruling, the court has given two options to the Sindh government: it can either hold the elections on January 18 “on the position existing prior to the delimitation process [that] started in 2013,” or if the provincial government thinks delimitations are necessary prior to the elections, they “may make a request to the honourable Supreme Court and the Election Commission of Pakistan for the extension in the date of elections.”

The bench suggested that if the Supreme Court and ECP extend the date to carry out the delimitation, then the provincial government should form an independent commission or body to deal with the objections. In addition, it must also provide an independent forum of an appellate authority to hear and decide the appeals in the delimitation cases.

For their part, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and his cabinet ministers claim that the nomination forms submitted by the aspiring candidates and the delimitation exercise carried out by the government have now become “null and void”, therefore the polls should be deferred.

“The SHC has suggested holding the elections on January 18 on the basis of constituencies, demarcated during Pervez Musharraf’s tenure in 2001, which is not possible for us,” said the provincial information minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon.

The chief minister, in a statement, said that the provincial government would have no other option, but to challenge the verdict.

“We have not yet studied the detailed judgment that has declared the local government law unconstitutional,” the provincial advocate general, Khalid Jawed Khan told The Express Tribune. “We will consult constitutional law experts and challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.” Before filing the appeal, however, the Sindh government plans to approach the Supreme Court to seek an extension in the elections schedule.

On the other hand, political parties and petitioners of the case have welcomed the Sindh High Court’s decision. MQM parliamentary leader Faisal Subzwari said, “The elections should not be postponed at any cost. They should be held as per the schedule on January 18, 2014.”

Speaking to the media at the Sindh Assembly on Monday, he said the provincial government should clarify its position over the date of the elections and respect the decision of the SHC. He said that the amendments in the local government act were introduced by the government in ‘bad faith’.

The MQM is vehemently opposed to delimitation because it created new constituencies in Karachi’s South and Malir districts and therefore, divided the party’s vote bank. Reverting to the pre-delimitation status of constituencies favours the party, which is why the MQM is insisting that the polls take place without the delay and according to the earlier demarcation of the districts.

In a press statement, MQM chief Altaf Hussain called the SHC decision a ‘historic’ one.

The party has also started its campaign for the upcoming local bodies’ elections. At an event at Nine Zero on Monday, the party’s deputy convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that they are confident about sweeping the elections again, and ready to serve the public.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2013.