- CJP rules court will intervene whenever there is violation of constitution
- PTI announces filing a contempt of court petition against ECP
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday dismissed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) petition, seeking a review of the top court’s order regarding holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said that court would intervene whenever there was a constitutional violation because the “Constitution was not someone’s property”.
“No institution can transgress the Constitution and under the Constitution, the ECP is bound to hold elections within three months,” the CJP said.
“The court will intervene whenever the Constitution is violated,” Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial remarked while heading a three-member bench, comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, hearing ECP petition for a review of the verdict regarding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
In a unanimous judgment on April 4, the bench had quashed the electoral body’s decision to extend the date for polls in the province from April 10 to Oct 8 and fixed May 14 as the new date.
It had earlier directed the government to release Rs21 billion for the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and provide a security plan to the ECP regarding the polls. Moreover, the court had instructed relevant authorities to keep it in the loop.
However, in reports submitted to the apex court in subsequent days, the ECP had said the then ruling coalition was reluctant in releasing the funds.
It had contended that staggering polls by holding them in Punjab and KP separately, before elsewhere, was not feasible since it would incur significantly more expenses compared to holding the exercise on one day. It had further said that an already depleted security apparatus would require weeks in advance for its mobilisation.
On May 3, with fewer than two weeks to the May 14 election date ordered by the court, the election commission had filed its plea seeking a review of the court’s April 4 order.
At the outset of the hearing, the ECP lawyer sought one more week for preparation. However, the CJP asked the lawyer to inform the court of his stance, saying that the bench would review the case.
The lawyer responded that he required time to prepare additional grounds in the case. He said that the most important question was regarding the power to give a date for elections.
After amendments to Section 57 and 58 of the Elections Act 2017, the power now rests with the ECP, the lawyer argued.
“Vakil sahib, keep in mind this is a review (plea),” Justice Akhtar remarked. “Don’t raise points that were not raised in the original case,” he said.
The ECP lawyer then said he wished to highlight the Workers Party case, to which Justice Akhtar said that the court had given its opinion in this regard.
“Tell us from the record about mistakes in the order for which a review is required,” the judge told the ECP lawyer.
PTI announces to file a contempt petition against ECP
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Spokesperson announced that the party would file a contempt petition against Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Supreme Court (SC) after the apex court dismissed the electoral watchdog’s review petition asking the top court to revisit its order of holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
Reacting to the SC verdict, the PTI spokesperson said that the PTI would approach the apex court and file a contempt petition against the ECP by delaying polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in sheer violation of the constitution.
The spokesperson said that the PTI had taken a constitutional and democratic step to dissolve the provincial assemblies of Punjab and KP and the ECP should have held elections in the provinces within the constitutionally mandated 90 days of the dissolution.
However, he stated that the ECP took the criminal step of postponing elections for an indefinite period instead of following the intent of the constitution and the order of the apex court, adding that today’s verdict had brought forth ECP’s real intent, as the commission even completely failed to satisfy the court about its unconstitutional actions during the hearing on the review petition.
The spokesperson stated that the top court indicted the electoral body by dismissing its review petition for having violated the constitution. He announced that the party would file contempt pleas against the ECP and its members, including the chief election commissioner, so that they could be held accountable for their crime.
