ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has set up election tribunals comprising of eight high court judges; five from Sindh High Court (SHC) and three from Balochistan High Court (BHC), to hear and decide general election petitions.
SHC judges Karim Agha, Adnan Chaudhry, Iqbal Kalhoro, Amjad Ali Sahito and Saleem Jessar, and BHC judges Abdullah Baloch, Rozi Khan Berrech and Aamir Rana have been appointed as election tribunals for trial and disposal of election petitions pertaining to the national/provincial assemblies’ constituencies for general elections 2024, according to a notification issued by the electoral entity on Friday.
The ETs for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be decided after completion of the required consultation with the chief justices of Lahore High Court (LHC) and Peshawar High Court (PHC), an ECP official told Business Recorder.
Section 140 of the Elections Act 2017 reads: (1) For the trial of election petitions under this Act, the Commission shall appoint as many ETs as may be necessary for swift disposal of election petitions. (2) An ET shall comprise— (a) in the case of an election to an assembly or the Senate, a person who is or has been a judge of a high court; and (b) in the case of an election to a local government, a district and sessions judge or an additional district and sessions judge. (3) The Commission shall appoint a sitting judge as ET in consultation with the chief justice of the high court concerned.
Under the related election law, the ETs are bound to decide the electoral appeals within four months. Section 148(5) of the Elections Act 2017 provides that an election petition shall be decided within 120 days of its filing.
The Section 148(6) of the same law states: If an election petition is not finally decided within 120 days— (a) further adjournment sought by a party shall be granted only on payment of special costs of ten thousand rupees per adjournment and adjournment shall not be granted for more than three days; (b) if the ET itself adjourns the election petition, it shall record reasons for such adjournment.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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