Delimitation issue: ECP challenges Lahore High Court decision in apex court

Argues that the court has misinterpreted and misunderstood Punjab LG Act 2013

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has challenged Lahore High Court’s decision declaring the delimitation process of different union councils in Rawalpindi void, in the Supreme Court.

Counsel for the electoral body, Munir Ahmad Paracha moved a petition in the apex court on Monday against the LHC’s October 8 verdict, wherein it was declared that the commission has no authority to create new union councils.

A single bench of the LHC had also given same judgment on October 1. The commission, later, approached the SC against the high court’s decision. The apex court in that matter had said that the commission has the authority to create new UCs. However, the matter was referred back to the LHC for deciding over other questions, raised by the petitioners against the delimitation process.

ECP in its petition contends that the high court has misinterpreted the provisions of chapter II and III of the Punjab Local Government Act 2013, adding that the high court has also misunderstood the provisions of Section 3 of the law.

The ECP counsel argued that the high court has wrongly recorded a finding in section 10-A of the act as the high court still has the jurisdiction to review or correct delimitation of a union council.

The ECP has also contended that the court did not take into consideration, the provision of Article 225 of the Constitution, the precedent law and Section 38 (1) of the act.

The court failed to properly comprehend the scheme of election prescribed by the act, the ECP said.

As per Section 6, the government shall, through a notification, divide a district into rural and urban areas, demarcate and declare a local area consisting of a metropolitan corporation, district council, municipal corporation, and municipal committee, depending on the population of the urban area.

Explaining Section 8, which deals with delimitation, ECP maintained that the power lies only with the government to determine the number of UCs in a metropolitan or municipal corporation, district council and wards of a municipal committee. The ECP further contended that it was the commission that should delimit the UCs and the wards.

The judgment drew a wrong inference from Section 3(1) (d) of the act and misinterpreted Section 10-A of the act to hold that the court is not barred from reviewing the delimitation of a UC after the announcement of election schedule, the appellant says.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th,  2015.