On SC orders, ECP issues Feb 8 general election schedule

Notification issued late Friday night ends uncertainty around fresh polls n Election symbols will be allotted to political parties on Jan 13 n SC suspends LHC order against appointment of ROs, DROs from bureaucracy.

 

ISLAMABAD  -  The Election Commission of Paki­stan (ECP) following the directions by the apex court issued the much-awaited schedule of the general elections late Thursday night.

The announcement of election schedule has cleared the mist and uncertainty about the Feb­ruary polls and it would further boost up election festivity in the country. A few hours earlier, the Supreme Court suspended the Lahore High Court order against the appointment of Returning Officers and District Returning Officers from the bureaucracy.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa heard the matter. The court further di­rected the Election Commission of Pakistan to issue the election schedule by Friday night. The ECP earlier on Friday challenged the LHC verdict that stayed the appointment of election officers from the bureaucracy.

According to the notification, a copy of which is available with The Nation, the electoral watch­dog said the public notice would be issued by the RO on Decem­ber 19 with the dates for filing nominations with the RO from Dec 20 to Dec22.

The ECP said in notification the names of the nominated can­didates would be published on Dec 23 and the last date for scru­tiny of their nomination papers would be from Dec 24 to Dec 30. The last date for filing appeals against the RO’s decisions on re­jecting or accepting nomination papers is January 3 with the last date for deciding the appeals by an appellate tribunal on Jan 10.

The revised list of candidates will be published on Jan 11 and the last date for withdrawing one’s candidature is Jan 12. The ECP said election symbols will be al­lotted to political parties on Jan 13 with polls set for February 8,2024. The ECP said that the election programme shall also apply to the seats reserved for women and non-Muslims in the National and provincial assemblies.

“Last date of filling of separate priority list for seats reserved for women and non-Muslims before the ROs is Dec 22,” the notifica­tion read.

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended the La­hore High Court (LHC) order, which had suspended the no­tification of the Election Com­mission of Pakistan regarding appointment of District Re­turning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (RO) from the executive branch.

The ECP has been directed to an­nounce the Election Programme for upcoming elections today (Friday). The counsel represent­ing the Commission gave un­dertaking that the Election Pro­gramme will be issued today (Friday). The Court also asked the Commission to resume the train­ing of DROs and the ROs, which halted due to the LHC order.

The SC directed the LHC not to make further proceeding on the PTI petition and send the file to the Supreme Court, and if the apex court deems neces­sary then it will fix it for hearing. The Chief Justice said that they would not do micro manage­ment, and has cleared the hurdle which has come in the ECP way in the shape of impugned order. He said that the Court had not compelled anyone but the ECP and the President themselves have agreed to hold general elec­tions on February 08, 2023.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Jus­tice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in the late evening on Friday heard the ECP petition against the LHC order.

In the afternoon the Chief Election Commissioner Sultan Sikandar Raja met with Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa in the Su­preme Court building and ap­prised him about the LHC or­der. After that Commission filed the petition before the SC challenging the LHC order. Lat­er on, the PPP, PML-N, and oth­er parties also filed the peti­tions in the Supreme Court.

A single-judge bench of the LHC comprising Justice Baqir Najafi on the petition of Paki­stan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had suspended the ECP notification and recommended LHC chief justice to form a larger bench to hear the case comprehensively.

Following the LHC order the ECP had stopped the ongoing training of District Returning Officers (DROs) and Returning Officers (ROs).

The SC bench also issued con­tempt notice to Barrister Umair Niazi, who had filed the petition before the LHC praying to sus­pend the ECP notification, and expressed concern over the or­der, passed by LHC judge, Baqir Najafi, at eleventh hour and dis­regarding the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The order said that ordinari­ly the Supreme Court does not pass the suspension order with­out issuing notices to the par­ties, but in view of the fact that the impugned order is direct­ly in conflict with its order and the petition filed by the PTI law­yer does not appear to be main­tainable. It added that the im­pugned order come in the way to the Election Commission con­stitutional responsibilities and functions as mandated under the constitution.

The ECP in its petition had sought the declaration that the LHC order is unconstitution­al, void and under unlawful au­thority. Shajeel Sheryar Swati, representing the ECP had ar­gued that two provisions of the Elections Act, 2017 subsist and the last two elections were held under them and no one till date has taken exception of them.

The Supreme Court on 03-11-2023 hearing number of peti­tions, which also included the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had passed an order that election not be delayed. The PTI had sought that a date for holding of general elections be announced. Pursuant to taking notice of the petitions the case was hear­ing and the President and ECP decided the elections date as 08-02-24. The counsels of the federal, provincial and the Is­lamabad Capital Territory (ICT) also concurred.

The lawyer ECP submitted be­fore the court that in order to ensure that the elections are held on 8th February 2024 a number of days are required prior to the election date, but the passing of impugned or­der at eleventh hour would not permit the ECP to hold elec­tion of 08-02-24. Swati said the ECP had drafted Election Pro­gramme under Section 57 of the Election Act, 2017, which it was intending to announce to­day (Friday), but due to the im­pugned it is not possible. He fur­ther said if the impugned order is sustained then it will also not be possible to hold training of the DROs and ROs.

The Court noted that the im­pugned order is self-contradic­tory as in the first place it says that the file be placed before the chief justice LHC for con­stitution of a larger bench for hearing of the petition, but on the same time it suspended the ECP notification.

The Court further said that the judge by passing the order has gone beyond its jurisdiction under Article 199 of the consti­tution. It said when alternative remedy was available with the petitioner, then why it did not first obtain that.

The SC order said that the pe­titioner claimed to be barrister therefore he should be well con­versant with the constitution and law, but it seemed he did not understand the Supreme Court judgment that no one should be allowed to derail de­mocracy on any pretext.

It further said that it is mat­ter of great regret that the peti­tioner belongs to a political par­ty and it was told to the apex court that he served as the Ad­ditional Advocate General Pun­jab during the regime of PTI.

In its petition in the high court, the PTI had contested the appointments of bureaucrats to act as DROs and ROs for the up­coming general elections and sought the appointment of of­ficials from the lower judiciary for the poll exercise.