Local government elections: Court seeks AG, AGP’s help on appointments

Directions to ECP sought on following provisions of Article 220.

LAHORE: Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of Lahore High Court on Thursday sought assistance from the attorney general and the advocate general by March 27 on a petition against appointment of public servants as returning officers and assistant returning officers for local government election.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Punjab president Ijaz Chaudhry had filed the petition. The petitioner said the high court had declared non-party local government polls illegal. He said the governor, on the behest of the chief minister, had amended Section 22 of the Punjab Local Government Act 2013 through the Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance.

He said the amendment had restricted the ECP to appointing ROs and AROs from among officers under the Punjab government.

He said the provisions of ordinance were at odds with Article 220 of the Constitution. He said the ordinance was against the provisions of Article 218(3) of the Constitution – on the ECP being allowed to ensure free and fair elections.

The petitioner said the ordinance implicitly contemplated that district coordination offices and their subordinate officers would act as ROs and AROs because the ECP did not have adequate staff of its own to manage the election without seeking assistance.

He said that the ordinance also violated Articles 7 and 25 of the Constitution.

He requested the court to declare Section 22 of the PLGA 2013 ultra vires the Constitution. He also sought directions for the ECP to strictly follow provisions of Article 220.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2015.