Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the postponement to October of elections in Punjab province was »unconstitutional» and set May 14 as the date for the vote, a decision that was immediately criticized by the Pakistani government.
The court has indicated that the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the voting from April 30 to October 8 was »unconstitutional» since »it did not have legal authority or jurisdiction», therefore it has emphasized that the decision »has no legal effect».
»Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the PEC to extend the date of the elections beyond the 90-day period contemplated by Article 224(2) of the Constitution,» he said, referring to the March 22 announcement on the postponement of the vote, as reported by Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’.
Following this, the Pakistani Minister of Justice, Azam Nazir Tarar, regretted the ruling and said that the Supreme Court should have taken a decision »with collective wisdom», before warning that »the current situation and political crisis will worsen».
In contrast, the opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Jan has applauded the decision and stressed that »the Supreme Court has buried the doctrine of necessity and restored the Constitution». The party’s deputy chairman. Shah Mahmud Qureshi, further asserted that the verdict »buries all conspiratorial forces that were putting obstacles in the way of democracy».
The CEP argued in making its announcement that the local authorities could not provide the necessary funds and security to hold the polls, while maintaining that the body »cannot make alternative arrangements to ensure the security of election materials, election staff, voters and candidates».
The decision was immediately criticized by Jan, who dissolved two of the four provincial assemblies to force early elections in the country and that the postponement was a violation of the Constitution. »We dissolved our two provincial legislatures with the expectation that elections would be held in 90 days, as our Constitution clearly states. We did not make this decision to allow a group of fascists to impose a reign of terror, violating the Constitution and the rule of law,» he said.
Punjab is one of the two major fiefdoms of the PTI, a party that also withdrew from its other major stronghold, Jiber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the state assembly was also dissolved amid its push to try to force the current prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, to call an early general election. The politician was injured in November after being shot in the leg during one of the protests he has called against the government.
The former prime minister was dismissed in April 2022 following a no-confidence motion passed by Parliament, a vote held after the Supreme Court overturned the then prime minister’s decision to dissolve Parliament and announce early elections following the refusal of the legislature’s presidency to hold the vote in the first instance.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
