— Top court directs president to consult with ECP on Punjab vote date, orders governor to announce for KP
— ECP accelerates preparations for elections in Punjab, KP
ISLAMABAD: In a landmark judgement that buried the so-called doctrine of necessity, the Supreme Court Wednesday declared that elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, where ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) disbanded parliaments more than a month ago to pave way for an early vote, must take place within 90 days from the date of dissolution.
The two provinces have been under caretaker governments since early January, after their respective legislatures were dissolved. According to the Constitution, these interim governments are supposed to remain neutral. However, former prime minister Imran Khan has repeatedly accused them of taking orders from the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government in Islamabad.
The latest political crisis emerged last week after the governors in these provinces, both from PDM component parties, declined to give dates for fresh elections and referred the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Subsequently, President Arif Alvi, using authority bestowed on him by the Constitution, declared April 9 as the poll date after the tribunal, too, refused to perform its job.
Following the development, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial intervened by taking a suo motu notice of the situation to settle the matter.
Justice Bandial led the five-judge bench — which included Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar — that delivered the split 3-2 verdict on Wednesday.
The previous day, the proceedings began with judges debating whether President Alvi had the authority to act without the recommendation of the cabinet of Shehbaz Sharif. During the hearing, Justice Bandial highlighted the potential cost and negative impact of ongoing litigation on the public and political parties.
Today, the court noted in its judgement that the KP parliament was dissolved after the governor signed the summary, while the assembly of Punjab dissolved on its own after 48 hours due to the governor refusing to sign the summary.
The judges noted the Constitution gives powers to the governor to dissolve the assembly under Article 112 of the Constitution or on the advice of the chief minister, and that the election is a subject for the Centre under Article 222.
The Election Act, of 2017 grants the governor and president the power to announce the date for the polls.
Justice Bandial said if the governor dissolves the assembly, he must announce the date of the election, and if not, the president has the power to dissolve the assembly and announce the election date under Section 57.
“In situations where the assembly is not dissolved by order of the governor, the constitutional responsibility of appointing a date for the general election that must follow is to be discharged by the president,” the order read.
The judges said that since elections after the dissolution of a provincial parliament were to be held within a stipulated period of time, the president or the governor “must discharge the constitutional responsibility of appointing a date for the said election swiftly and without any delay and within the shortest time possible”.
“The election commission must proactively be available to the president or the governor, and be prepared for such consultation as required for a date for the holding of general elections,” the order said.
Since the governor had refused to approve the summary recommending dissolution, the constitutional responsibility for appointing a date for the general election was to be discharged by the president.
Whereas, in KP, the court emphasised that the governor has the constitutional responsibility of announcing the date.
“It further follows that the order of the president dated Feb 20 is constitutionally competent and it applies to the Punjab Assembly, but the same is constitutionally invalid insofar as it applies to the KP Assembly and is therefore hereby set aside.
“It also follows that the governor of KP, in as much as he has not appointed a date for the holding of the general election to the assembly of that province is in breach of his constitutional responsibility,” the order highlighted.
It further said that in ordinary circumstances, the general election in Punjab ought to be held on April 9, the date given by the president, but because there were delays in the announcement of the poll date, it might not be possible for the province to meet the deadline.
“The Election Commission is therefore directed to use its utmost efforts to immediately propose, keeping in mind ss. 57 and 58 of the 2017 Act, date to the president that is compliant with the deadline. After consultation with the ECP, the President shall announce a date for holding the general election to the Punjab Assembly.
“If such a course is not available, then the Election Commission shall in like manner propose a date for the holding of the poll that deviates to the barest minimum from the aforesaid deadline,” the order read.
ECP accelerates preparations for elections in Punjab, KP
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has accelerated preparations for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) following the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict in polls date case, sources said.
The sources said that the electoral watchdog has instructed relevant departments to speed up preparations for the elections. The Election Commission has decided to implement Supreme Court’s orders, they added.
The elections in both the provinces would likely to be held after Eid-ul-Fitr, they claimed. Sources further claimed that the ECP would not have the authority to change the announced polling day.
The ECP has also decided to write a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi and Khyber Pakhntunkwa (KP) Governor tomorrow. Article 220 will implement over non-cooperation of institutions, sources claimed.
