ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has invited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Haji Ghulam Ali to visit Islamabad office for consultation on date for holding election in the province, ARY News reported on Tuesday.
The electoral watchdog has responded to KP governor’s letter – written a day earlier to initiate an ‘active and meaningful consultative process’ regarding the elections for the provincial assembly.
In a statement, the ECP invited Haji Ghulam Ali to visit Islamabad office, saying that ‘meaningful consultation’ will be possible if the latter visit its office.
A day earlier, the KP governor penned down a letter to ECP, inviting the commission for consultations on the elections on March 7 or 8.
The letter was penned down in response to a letter sent by the ECP for the announcement of the election date.
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.
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