ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) continues to fail in implementing the Supreme Court’s clarification order in the reserved seats case - on notifying the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers in the National Assembly- as another huddle in this context on Monday proved inconclusive.
Additionally, the ECP has decided to meet today (Tuesday) to discuss the top court’s detailed verdict in the reserved seats case, issued Monday, along with the top court’s 14 September clarification order.
The Commission would discuss the two orders and proceed accordingly, said a senior ECP official, requesting anonymity.
A retired senior ECP official said the delay on part of the poll body in implementing the apex court’s order could entail serious consequences for Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and the four ECP members— including the initiation of contempt proceedings against them by the top court.
The apex court, in the detailed judgement in reserved seats case, observed: “The Commission must uphold democratic principles and the integrity of electoral processes by ensuring that elections truly reflect the will of the people, thereby preserving the democratic fabric of the nation. Unfortunately, the circumstances of the present case indicate that the Commission has failed to fulfil this role in the General Elections of 2024.”
It said the “unlawful acts and omissions of the Returning Officers and the Commission, which have caused confusion and prejudice to PTI, its candidates and the electorate who voted for PTI, are numerous…”
The apex court observed that the Commission had earlier “accepted in 2018 a political party, Balochistan Awami Party, which had not contested for general seats, eligible for the allocation of reserved seats.”
In a strong rebuke to the poll body, a four-page clarification order issued by majority judges in the reserved seats case on 14 September noted that putting together the record placed before them, and considering the same in the light of the short order in the reserved seats case, “leaves in little doubt that the clarification sought by the Commission –is nothing more than a contrived device and the adoption of dilatory tactics, adopted to delay, defeat and obstruct implementation of the decision of the court. This cannot be countenanced. Even on the application of elementary principles of law, the application filed by the Commission is misconceived.”
The electoral body has since held a series of meetings but failed to implement the apex court’s clarification order.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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