Devolution of power: SHC wants ‘free and fair’ LG elections in Sindh

Petition was filed in high court to refund nomination fee from last year when polls were deferred

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed on Thursday the federal and provincial authorities to hold 'free and fair' local bodies elections in Sindh.

A division bench, comprising justices Sajjad Ali Shah and Hasan Feroze, also directed the relevant provincial authorities to refund the billions of rupees that they collected as fee for the nomination forms fee. These directives came on a constitutional petition filed by Advocate Syed Mureed Ali Shah.

Fair polls

In his plea, Shah had also argued that free and fair local government (LG) elections can only be held in different phases and under the supervision of the armed forces or the Rangers, given the shortage of law enforcement agencies. "Both should be deputed within and outside the polling stations."

According to the spirit of the constitutional mandate in terms of Article 218(3) of the Constitution and Section 34 of the Sindh Local Government Act-2013, LG elections shall be held, organised and conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan. It was the duty of the commission to make such arrangements as deemed necessary to ensure that the elections were conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with the law, he said.

Nomination forms fee

Last year, the SHC had struck down the entire delimitation process for the LG election in Sindh, Shah pointed out, adding that the Supreme Court had allowed the provincial government's appeal against this judgment. On January 13, the SC scrapped the polls scheduled for December 12, 2014, and ordered the start of the entire electoral process afresh after announcing the new schedule, he added.

"The amount collected by the Sindh government under the head of nomination fee from the contesting candidates, which amounts to billions of rupees, is liable to be refunded to each and every aspiring candidate," the petitioner claimed.

Consent order

During Thursday's proceedings, the two judges disposed of the plea after passing a 'consent order'. The bench directed the official respondents, the federal and provincial authorities, to "conduct free and fair local government polls in accordance with the relevant laws".

They also directed them to return Rs5,000 nomination fee to Mureed Ali Shah, who had submitted his nomination forms.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2015.