LB polls in Sindh: ECP to carry out delimitation, says SC

Upholds SHC ruling; orders Sindh, federal govts to empower commission within five months.

KARACHI:

The Supreme Court upheld on Thursday the Sindh High Court’s judgment nullifying the delimitation of constituencies’ under the controversial third amendment to the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2013.

The court ruling comes ahead of local government elections and the bench observed that the “powers to carry out such delimitation should be vested in the Election Commission of Pakistan”.

Headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, the three-member bench passed this order while disposing of an appeal of the Sindh government challenging the Sindh High Court’s December 2013 verdict, as well as miscellaneous applications filed by various political groups in support of the high court’s ruling.

In its judgment, the apex court declared that the power to hold local government elections are held by the election commission under Article 140-A of the Constitution.

While referring to Article 218(3), the bench observed that the ECP has been mandated to ‘organise and conduct the election and to make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against’.

The apex court upheld the Sindh High Court’s December 26, 2013 judgment to the extent that the delimitation process initiated for the local bodies election under the third amendment to the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2013 was struck down.

“Since the delimitation of constituencies of the local government is part of the process of organising and holding elections honestly and fairly, which is the constitutional mandate of the Election Commission of Pakistan, the power to carry out such delimitation should be vested in the Election Commission of Pakistan,” the bench ruled.

Observing that local council elections had been delayed for more than nine years in violation of the Constitution, the SC directed the federal and Sindh government to pass appropriate legislation or amendments to empower the ECP to initiate and carry out the process of delimitation of constituencies for such elections.

The bench ordered that such an exercise should be completed within five months from the date of announcement of the judgment. The ECP shall thereafter take requisite measures to initiate the delimitation process for the local bodies elections so as to complete it within 45 days of any amendments.

The apex court ordered that the ECP shall further ensure the announcement of the election schedule, and the process shall be completed by or before November 15.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2014.