Review Petition
ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court took up for hearing a review petition from the ECP against the SC’s decision to hold snap polls in Punjab.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial led a three-member special bench. It included two other judges, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar.
The registrar of the apex court notified all respondents, including the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), regarding the case.
On April 4, the Supreme Court declared the ECP’s decision to postpone polls for the Punjab Assembly until October 8 as “unconstitutional.” The court set May 14 as the new date for the province’s polls.
The ruling stated, “We declare the order dated 22.03.2023 issued by the ECP as unconstitutional. It lacks lawful authority, jurisdiction, and is void ab-initio. The order has no legal effect and is hereby invalidated. The ECP is not empowered by the Constitution to extend the election date beyond the 90-day period.”
However, Parliament did not comply with the order for snap provincial elections, considering it a violation of both court orders and the Constitution.
At that time, Parliament had demanded a full court to hear the case.
In August, the Supreme Court emphasized that if executive authorities were unwilling to assist the commission in fulfilling its duties under Article 220 of the Constitution, the ECP should approach the top court to seek relief.
ECP assures delimitation process completion by Dec 14
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has reaffirmed its commitment to complete the crucial delimitation process by December 14, ensuring timely elections.
As part of its ongoing consultations with various political parties, the ECP met with delegations from the Awami National Party (ANP), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and Balochistan National Party (BNP), as stated in the official ECP statement.
At the meeting led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the ANP delegation, headed by Mian Iftikhar Hussain and Zahid Khan, requested elections within 90 days, a demand supported by the BAP delegation.
In response, the chief election commissioner assured the ANP representatives that the ECP would strive to expedite the delimitation process further.
However, the BAP delegation objected to the recent census results, opposing new delimitations due to concerns about potential discrepancies with political parties, candidates, and the public.
