The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), in a petition submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, asked the court to order the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to set a date for the general elections within the legally required 90 days after the National Assembly’s dissolution on August 9.
The plea also sought the suspension of the approval of 2023 census results by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on August 5, following which a delay in polls seems all but certain.
“This honourable court may be pleased to suspend the operation of the impugned decision dated August 5, 2023 issued by the respondent no.2 (CCI) and direct the respondent no.7 (ECP) to forthwith announce a date of election to the National and provincial assemblies as per Article 224(2) of the Constitution, 1973 during the pendency of the instant petition,” the plea, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, read.
According to Article 224 of the Constitution, “A general election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately following the day on which the term of the assembly is due to expire unless the assembly has been sooner dissolved”.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar to ensure timely polls in the country.
Speculations about the delay in holding polls sparked when Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad failed to give the apex court a certain date for the polls. Hearing petitions against delimitations of provincial constituencies PS 7, 8, and 9 Shikarpur, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday inquired when were the general elections being held. To this, the director general shrugged his shoulders.
“As yet, no date for the elections has been decided. The election commission should resolve all issues before the polls,” the CJP remarked.
