A two-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Sunday suspended the Lahore High Court's (LHC) ruling, ordering the revision of the nomination forms to be submitted by candidates for the upcoming general elections. The apex court suspended the LHC verdict while hearing appeals at its Lahore registry moved by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar asserted that the general elections would be held on July 25, and "the ECP will be personally responsible if they are postponed".
After the suspension of LHC judgment, the ECP notified new dates for the filing of nomination papers by the candidates. According to the new schedule, nomination papers would be filed with returning officers between June 4 and June 8, and the names of candidates will be published on June 8. The changes are applicable to seats reserved for women and minorities in the Nation and Provincial Assemblies. Rest of the stages shall remain intact and polling will be held on July 25, 2018, as notified earlier, the ECP announced.
It may be noted that a single bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruled on Friday that the nomination forms do not include mandatory information and declarations required from lawmakers as per the Constitution and law, and ordered the ECP to ensure this information is included in the revised Form A for election to the NA or Senate and Form B a statement of assets and liabilities. In its appeal, the ECP contended that a date has been set for the general elections and to make changes in the nomination papers will cause a delay in the election process.
However, the counsel of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq argued that only parliament has the right to legislate on any matter, including the electoral process. It was contended that all the parties in the parliament approved Election Reform Act.
As per petition moved in the LHC, the information missing from the nomination forms include: educational qualifications of the candidate; current occupation/job/profession/business of the candidate; dual nationality, if any; national tax number/income tax returns/ and payment of income tax; agriculture tax returns and payment of agriculture tax; criminal record, if any; assets and liabilities of dependents; declaration pertaining to election expenses; declaration pertaining to any default in loan or government dues by dependents; declaration that the candidate will abide by the code of conduct issued by ECP.