ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Nawaz Awan on Saturday requested Islamabad High Court (IHC) to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja for his failure to hold local government elections in the city on Dec 31 despite court orders.
Speaking at a presser, he said that the party had already filed a petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after it did not hold the LG election in the capital despite clear orders from the court, which is a contempt of court, for which there should be strict action against the CEC Raja.
On December 30, a division bench of Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir of IHC had directed the ECP to hold LG elections on Saturday, which it could not hold under the pretext of “short notice”. At the same time, the federal government also said the elections would not be possible in such a short period.
Awan who had filed the petition against ECP for postponing the elections said that the federal government which could not go beyond 27 kilometers, has once again defied the court orders, which is contempt of court.
He said that both the ECP and the federal government hand in glove, and the sole purpose of not holding the elections is nothing but to run away from elections.
He demanded that the CEC Raja should immediately step down as he had not only tarnished the image of the ECP but also committed contempt of court by not holding the polls.
Govt expresses inability to hold LG polls in Islamabad despite IHC orders
Referring to a case of the Supreme Court which removed the then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani after he refused to write a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen the alleged money laundering cases against the then president Asif Zardari, why the CEC cannot be removed as he has committed a contempt of court by defying court orders.
“Democracy has become a joke in this country. The CEC is hand in gloves with PDM parties and that’s the reason he did not implement the court, so what else could be a greater contempt of court than what the CEC did,” he questioned.
Meanwhile, the PTI complained that voters had gathered outside polling stations in the city but the election staff was missing.
“The CEC should be convicted and sentenced in an exemplary manner, in the interest to maintain the sanctity of judgments and honorable courts,” Awan added.
Awan also accused CEC Raja of “trampling” the high court’s decision, adding, “We expect Sikandar Sultan will be punished for not holding the polls. He takes salaries worth millions of rupees and if he can’t even hold elections, he should call it a day.”
Earlier, party chairman Imran Khan, in a tweet, said that by not implementing the IHC orders, the ECP had proven that it was a “B team of the imported government and its backers”.
“PDM, fearful of the people, is running away from all elections. The right to vote is a fundamental democratic norm and PTI stands committed to it,” he tweeted.
Separately, in a video message, PTI secretary general Asad Umar said his party’s teams were present outside polling stations since morning but no one from the electoral body showed up.
“This imported government is scared of people […] they run away whenever elections are held […] they make excuses,” he claimed, demanding why the ECP’s preparations were not complete.
“We want the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the election commission and throw them out,” Umar added.
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry also urged the IHC to take action against the ECP.
On the other hand, PTI leader Dr Shireen Mazari said the ECP should immediately resign after “playing politics with holding elections”.
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