ECP invites KP governor on Mar 14 for consultation on election date

PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has invited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on March 14 for consultation on date for holding election in province, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to details, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor House has received the invitation letter written by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for consultation.

The letter invited KP governor to arrive at Election Commission Secretariat on March 14 at 2:00 pm. “A final consultation will be held between the Governor and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Raja Sultan on the election date,” it stated.

A day earlier, a consultative meeting between the KP governor and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was held in Islamabad to determine the date of the election in KP.

The meeting did not yield any results as the KP governor and the ECP failed to determine the date of the elections, the sources said.

They further said the KP governor was of the view that he cannot announce the date for elections in KP immediately due to the law and order situation.

SC verdict

The Supreme Court, in a 3-2 verdict, ruled on Wednesday that elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab should be held within 90 days.

CJP Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar supported the verdict, while Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah opposed the admissibility of the suo moto notice and dissented from the majority verdict.

Justice Shah and Justice Mandokhail in their dissenting notes agreed with the position of Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Athar Minallah. “The matter was already being heard in the high courts, Supreme Court cannot take suo moto notice on the undertrial cases in the high courts.”

The short verdict stated that the Election Commission of Pakistan failed in discharging its role in the election. The announcement of the election date in KP is the responsibility of the provincial governor, while the president has the authority as per law and constitution to fix the election date in Punjab.

The verdict further stated a consultation to fix the date of elections in Punjab, if they are not possible on April 9, the date announced by the president.