ECP urges SC to transfer 'partisan' CCPO Lahore

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has challenged the Supreme Court’s order of suspending the transfer of Lahore CCPO Ghulam Mehmood Dogar.

The electoral watchdog filed an application with the apex court, praying to become a party in a case relating to the transfer of Lahore CCPO Ghulam Mehmood Dogar.

“The incumbent officer has inclinations towards a particular political party and therefore the Commission has reasons to believe that he will not be able to fulfil its constitutional duties if the said officer remains the head of Division during the conduct of provincial assembly elections in Lahore,” an application submitted by the ECP though it’s counsel Sajeel Sheharyar Swati said.

“The ECP is charged with a Constitutional duty of ensuring that the elections are conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that the corrupt practices are guarded against. It is imperative that to ensure that the constitutional duty as envisaged in Article 218(3) is fulfilled, the machinery assisting the Commission is neutral and non-partisan, and also has no germs of affiliations with a political party.

It further submitted that the Provincial Assembly of Punjab stood dissolved on January 14, 2023, in terms of Article 112(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and a caretaker government was appointed on 12-0-1-2023 in terms of Article 224 (A) of the Constitution.