Federal govt says elections will be held in October or November this year,
ISLAMABAD- The Supreme Court will hear Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) review petition today (Monday) seeking review of its April 4 order of holding elections in Punjab as the May 14 deadline set by the apex court has expired on Sunday..
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar will hear the ECP’s review petition.
The top court on April 4, had ordered to hold Punjab provincial assembly election on May 14. It had also directed the federal government to provide Rs 21 billion for the elections in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by April 10 and make available all the necessary personnel, whether from the Armed Forces, Rangers, or the Frontier Constabulary for the security and other purposes related to the general elections.
The court had also ordered the electoral watchdog to present a report on the provision of funds on April 11. It came as Imran Khan-led party had filed the petition regarding delay in elections after the ECP on March 22 put off the polls till Oct 8, citing financial and security constraints.
Later, the federal government, in response, took the matter to the parliament to get the funding approved. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the election expenses bill in the National Assembly.
The ECP, on April 11, apprised the SC in a report that the government had not provided funds to the commission for holding elections in Punjab.
According to the Election Commission, the government had not yet provided Rs21 billion despite SC’s order and the Punjab caretaker government had agreed to provide only 75,000 personnel for security. “There is a shortage of three lakh security personnel for the elections in Punjab,” the ECP noted.
Upon this, the court issued notices to top officials including Attorney General Mansoor Awan, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad, Secretary of the Finance Department, and Secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over failing to provide funds for upcoming Punjab elections.
Later, the PTI and the PDM-led government sat on the negotiating table, starting on April 27, to talk through elections but it culminated in consensus on holding elections simultaneously across the country with an impasse on the date during its third and last round on May 2.
On May 3, the ECP approached the court seeking review of its order to hold polls on May 14. Three days later, CJP Bandial said the apex court would proceed in line with the constitution and would not sit idle on the May 14 election issue if the dialogue between the government and the PTI failed.
On April 18, the ECP informed the top court that it had not yet received Rs21 billion required for holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
CJP Bandial, on April 20, had remarked that the apex court could make some room and change the date of elections if all the political parties evolve a consensus. Later, the top court clarified that negotiations between the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to end the political deadlock on the general election’s timeframe were initiated in a volunteer capacity and that the top court did not issue any direction in this regard.
In a three-page verdict of the April 27 proceedings of the Punjab election delay case, the Supreme Court said its April 4 verdict directing the ECP to hold Punjab polls on May 14 “remained unchanged”.
However, despite multiple rounds of negotiations, both sides could not develop a consensus on the matter and on May 3, the PTI submitted a report to the top court on negotiations with the PDM-led government, requesting the apex court to ensure implementation of its April 4 judgement regarding holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14.
It is pertinent to mention here that in line with the directions of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, the Punjab Assembly was dissolved in January to force the ruling coalition to hold snap polls. However, the federal government has consistently maintained that elections will be held in October or November this year.
The electoral authority had postponed the Punjab polls to October, which the PTI had challenged. The Supreme Court, in an April 4 order, declared the ECP’s decision to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction, void ab-initio and of no legal effect.
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