The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the government to constitute the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) within three weeks in accordance with the 18th Amendment otherwise the SC would set aside the notifications for by-elections, which would create problems for the government.
A three-member Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing a petition filed by PTI Chairman Imran Khan against bogus votes in the electoral lists. The court said it would pass an order if the government failed to resolve the issue of MNAs, MPAs and senators who were elected in by-polls held after the passage of 18th Amendment in absence of the ECP.
The court said it had been exercising restraint so far and wanted the government itself find out ways to overcome the issue of MNAs, MPAs and senators elected after the passage of the 18th Amendment and in the absence of the ECP. Appearing on notice, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq stated that after the passage of the 18th Amendment, the Election Commission was charged with the duty of organising and conducting elections to fill vacancies in the national and provincial assemblies, as well as in the Senate.
Since the ECP had not been constituted in accordance with the 18th Amendment, the elections were organised by the election commissioner, he said. Shah Khawar, Naseer Ahmed Bhutta and Abadur Rehman Lodhi who appeared on behalf of some of the recently-elected MPs requested the court to grant some time for preparing a reply. Hamid Khan, lawyer for Imran Khan, submitted that under the 18th Amendment, the ECP was supposed to prepare the electoral rolls. He said by-elections in the absence of an incomplete ECP had no legal effect.
The court said it was not its duty to draw the attention of concerned authorities, however, Article 5 of the constitution imposed obligation on every citizen, especially elected representatives, “to show loyalty and obedience to the constitution and the law”. The hearing was later adjourned for three weeks.
