LAHORE: A citizen in Lahore has filed a contempt petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over its failure to announce the election date in Punjab, despite an order of the Lahore High Court (LHC). Munir Ahmed submitted the petition through lawyer Azhar Siddique against the tribunal and the governor of Punjab, among other respondents.
The petition cites that the ECP has failed to announce the election schedule in Punjab, despite the court’s previous order to do so.
With only 60 days remaining before the 90-day constitutional deadline for elections after the dissolution of the assembly, the petition urges the LHC to initiate contempt proceedings against the governor, the chief election commissioner (CEC), and others.
“Advocate Azhar Siddique has filed a contempt of court petition in the Lahore High Court against the members of the Election Commission and the Governor of Punjab for failing to comply with the clear orders of the Lahore High Court regarding the date of elections,” tweeted Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).
لاہور ہائیکورٹ میں الیکشن کمیشن کے ممبران اور گورنر پنجاب کے خلاف توہین عدالت کی درخواست دائر کر دی گئ ہے، اظہر صدیق ایڈوکیٹ نے لاہور ہائیکورٹ کے واضع احکامات کے باوجود انتخابات کی تاریخ نہ دینے پر یہ درخواست دائر کی ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 13, 2023
Last week, the LHC ordered the ECP to organise by-elections in Punjab within three months. The reserved verdict, issued by Justice Jawad Hassan, was in response to a petition submitted by the opposition party.
The 16-page verdict directed the ECP to issue the election schedule in accordance with the Constitution and organise the by-elections within 90 days.
