The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the petition of Sindh government to set aside the verdict of the Sindh High Court for holding the election of mayors and deputy mayors in the province through secret ballet.
The tree-member apex court bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed also stayed the election scheduled on Feb 20 and sought replies from the respondents till March 3.
The SHC, in its verdict, had declared an amendment in the Sindh Local Bodies Act for holding election of mayors and deputy mayors through ‘show of hands’ null and void. The amendment was challenged by the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
During the course of proceedings, Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked that holding election was the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan, which should be allowed to do its work in a transparent manner.
Justice Gulzar observed that the court would review the matter regarding the election through show of hands after the detailed verdict of the SHC was issued.
Earlier, counsel for Pakistan People’s Party Babar Awan argued that if election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could be held through show of hands then why could the same rule not be applied in Sindh?
Counsel for PML-F Barrister Farough Nasim apprised the court that the political parties had no consensus on holding elections through show of hands. The Sindh government only wanted to delay the elections, he added.
The court observed that this issue would be reviewed in detail after the SHC’s detailed verdict and adjourned the case till March 3.
