ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court declared on Tuesday the election commission’s decision to postpone provincial assembly elections in Punjab as “unconstitutional” and fixed May 14 as the date for polls in the country’s most populous province.
The verdict followed a petition filed by the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which had challenged the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone elections in Punjab from April 30 to October 8 citing lack of funds and precarious security conditions.
The PTI in January this year had dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial assemblies in a bid to force an early national election, a demand Khan has been making since he was removed from power last year.
A deadlock, however, emerged after the election commission avoided announcing the election schedule which, according to the constitution, must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of a provincial or national assembly. The delay in announcing the date prompted President Arif Alvi, a PTI leader, to unilaterally declare April 9 as the polling date in the two provinces. On February 23, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial took suo motu cognisance of the issue and constituted a nine-member bench to hear the case, but four judges recused themselves from hearing the case.
On March 1, the SC, in a 3-2 verdict, ordered the election commission to fulfil its constitutional obligation and announce a schedule for polls in the two provinces. Two days later, the ECP announced that elections in Punjab would be held on April 30. On March 22, the ECP withdrew its schedule and announced October 8 as the new election date in Punjab.
The PTI approached the SC against the ECP decision. The SC then constituted a five-member bench to hear the petition. The hearings in the case, which lasted over a week, witnessed high drama after two judges of the original five-member bench recused themselves from hearing the case. Thereafter, the chief justice constituted a three-member bench comprising himself and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar to proceed with the PTI petition.
Announcing the verdict, the apex court said the ECP exceeded its jurisdiction by delaying the Punjab election date. “The constitution does not give the ECP the authority to postpone elections,” it said.
On holding the polls in KP, the top court said a petition should be filed at an appropriate forum.
The court also ordered the government to release Rs 20 billion (Pakistani currency, approximately $70 million) by April 10 for the elections and the poll panel was asked to submit a report on available funds on April 11.
The top court’s verdict came amid a continuing tussle between the judiciary and the coalition government, which last week passed a new law to curtail the powers of the SC’s chief justice.
Following the verdict, law minister Azam Nazir Tarar said the SC should have made a decision with “collective wisdom”. “The full court should have heard the case,” he added. The minister said the “current political situation and crisis will further aggravate”.
The PTI, meanwhile, lauded the top court for the verdict and for “upholding the constitution”. Speaking to the media outside the court, PTI politician Fawad Chaudhry said the SC order is about “the future of Pakistan” and the people of Pakistan will “protect this decision”. “Our constitution, democracy, SC and high judiciary are all our red lines,” he said.
Senior PTI politician and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi welcomed the verdict, calling it a “watershed moment” in Pakistan’s history.
The verdict followed a petition filed by the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which had challenged the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone elections in Punjab from April 30 to October 8 citing lack of funds and precarious security conditions.
The PTI in January this year had dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial assemblies in a bid to force an early national election, a demand Khan has been making since he was removed from power last year.
A deadlock, however, emerged after the election commission avoided announcing the election schedule which, according to the constitution, must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of a provincial or national assembly. The delay in announcing the date prompted President Arif Alvi, a PTI leader, to unilaterally declare April 9 as the polling date in the two provinces. On February 23, Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial took suo motu cognisance of the issue and constituted a nine-member bench to hear the case, but four judges recused themselves from hearing the case.
On March 1, the SC, in a 3-2 verdict, ordered the election commission to fulfil its constitutional obligation and announce a schedule for polls in the two provinces. Two days later, the ECP announced that elections in Punjab would be held on April 30. On March 22, the ECP withdrew its schedule and announced October 8 as the new election date in Punjab.
The PTI approached the SC against the ECP decision. The SC then constituted a five-member bench to hear the petition. The hearings in the case, which lasted over a week, witnessed high drama after two judges of the original five-member bench recused themselves from hearing the case. Thereafter, the chief justice constituted a three-member bench comprising himself and Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar to proceed with the PTI petition.
Announcing the verdict, the apex court said the ECP exceeded its jurisdiction by delaying the Punjab election date. “The constitution does not give the ECP the authority to postpone elections,” it said.
On holding the polls in KP, the top court said a petition should be filed at an appropriate forum.
The court also ordered the government to release Rs 20 billion (Pakistani currency, approximately $70 million) by April 10 for the elections and the poll panel was asked to submit a report on available funds on April 11.
The top court’s verdict came amid a continuing tussle between the judiciary and the coalition government, which last week passed a new law to curtail the powers of the SC’s chief justice.
Following the verdict, law minister Azam Nazir Tarar said the SC should have made a decision with “collective wisdom”. “The full court should have heard the case,” he added. The minister said the “current political situation and crisis will further aggravate”.
The PTI, meanwhile, lauded the top court for the verdict and for “upholding the constitution”. Speaking to the media outside the court, PTI politician Fawad Chaudhry said the SC order is about “the future of Pakistan” and the people of Pakistan will “protect this decision”. “Our constitution, democracy, SC and high judiciary are all our red lines,” he said.
Senior PTI politician and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi welcomed the verdict, calling it a “watershed moment” in Pakistan’s history.