Despite court order : AJK government yet to appoint CEC

LG polls are scheduled to be held in region on August 6.

ISLAMABAD: Despite orders of the Supreme Court and the High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the AJK government has yet to appoint the chief election commissioner (CEC) in the wake of the local bodies election.

Sources said the AJK government and opposition had failed to reach consensus in this regard, therefore appointment of the CEC was still pending.

“The AJK High Court has ordered the government to hold local bodies polls on August 6. Only 11 days are left, while the government has yet to complete the basic work including the preparation of electoral rolls,” the source said.

“Since retirement of Chaudhry Munir, the post of the CEC is lying vacant due to government negligence,” the sources added.

The AJK government had earlier challenged the verdict of high court in the AJK Supreme Court but the apex court maintained the order of the lower court. The Supreme Court also issued an order to hold the LG election on August 6.

Reports say that the AJK government has filed an application in the AJK High Court to delay the elections.

Legal experts are of the view that the AJK government has already violated the court order and if their pending application is rejected then a contempt of court case can be registered against it.

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