LHC verdict on Punjab election date challenged in court

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court’s single bench decision with regard to the election date has been challenged in the LHC, ARY News reported on Thursday.

Shahzad Shaukat Advocate has filed a petition on behalf of the Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman seeking interpretation of the court’s decision.

“The bench has ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to consult with the governor over the election date”, petitioner said. “The governor hadn’t signed the summary for dissolution of the provincial legislature,” he pleaded.

Following the meeting with the ECP, Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman had decided to approach the high court to seek clarity over his role in the consultative process for announcing the election date in the province.

Earlier, the governor chaired a consultative meeting with a three-member ECP committee to finalise the date for the provincial elections after the LHC decision.

Baligh Ur Rehman said that there were some issues in the high court’s order that required “clarification and interpretation”. He said the court would be approached about the matter after consulting with constitutional and legal experts.

Later, the election commission – in a press release – quoted the governor as saying that since the provincial assembly was not dissolved on his orders, under the Constitution he was not authorised to give an election date.

The Punjab and KP assemblies were dissolved on Jan 14 and Jan 18 respectively, after former prime minister Imran Khan had announced to dissolve assemblies in an attempt to force the government to hold snap polls.

As per the Constitution of Pakistan, polls need to be held for the dissolved assemblies in 90 days.

The LHC’s Justice Jawad Hassan announced the reserved verdict on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) petition seeking the court orders for Punjab by-polls.

In a 16-page short verdict, the high court ordered the election commission for holding by-polls in Punjab within 90 days.