SC stays by-polls on existing electoral rolls

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Issuing a stay order against the upcoming by-elections on existing electoral rolls containing bogus voters, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to first prepare verified voter lists and then hold elections in vacant constituencies.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ordered this while hearing petitions moved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan and PPP’s late chairperson Benazir Bhutto for the preparation of transparent voter lists.
The court, however, accepted a plea by Naseem Chaudhry, chairperson of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice, to give time for the validation of the status of 24 parliamentarians who were elected through by-elections after the passage of 18th Amendment, at a time the ECP was incomplete under the provisions of this amendment. During the hearing, the court was told that the bill for 20th Amendment was moved in the parliament about the matter, therefore, time may be granted in this regard. The chief justice said they would not allow the ECP to hold elections on bogus voter lists because constitution demanded transparency in the elections. He said the court in its July 30, 2009, decision had buried the doctrine of necessity and if the court stopped these 24 parliamentarians, the system would be affected. He said there was no martial law in India because they did not back out from the constitution.

10 COMMENTS

      • Man you have low standards.
        Everyone agrees that voter lists are bogus and an assembly elected on these lists has brought the country to its knees. And you are criticising CJ for stopping people from getting elected on the bogus lists. It is his duty.
        Pathetic

  1. This is good judgement if it applies to bogus voters registered by the MQM in Karachi. With the help of these bogus voters MQM gets its thugs elected and then claim to be to be the sole custodian of Karachi.

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