The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notified on Wednesday the elections schedule issued by the Supreme Court (SC) a day earlier while announcing its verdict in the Punjab polls delayed the case.
As per the schedule, polling for elections in Punjab will be held on May 14. The last date for filing an appeal against the decision of the Returning Officer regarding the nomination papers will be April 10.
“The ECP hereby recalls its notification of even number dated March 22, 2023, and in partial modification to this commission’s notification of March 8, 2023, hereby revises the following stages of the election program for the conduct of general elections to the provincial assembly of Punjab,” stated the revised.
As per the revised schedule, the election tribunal will decide on the appeals by April 17, and the last date for publishing the new list of candidates will be April 18.
The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers will be April 19, and election symbols will be allotted to the candidates on April 20.
Read CJP Bandial turns down AGP Awan’s request for full court in polls delay the case.
The election schedule by the ECP comes just a day after the apex court declared as “unconstitutional” the ECP’s earlier decision to postpone elections in Punjab, in a blow to the government that has been trying to delay the provincial election citing security issues and the economic crisis.
The three-member bench — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan — also fixed May 14 as the date for the poll in the province.
On March 22, the ECP delayed the provincial assembly election in the politically crucial Punjab province by more than five months, citing the deteriorating security situation in the cash-starved country, a move criticized by Imran.
Following the ECP’s announcement, the PTI on March 25 approached the SC against the electoral watchdog’s decision to delay elections in Punjab.
The hearings in the case, which lasted over a week, witnessed high drama after two judges of the original five-member bench — Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Aminuddin Khan — recused themselves from hearing the case. After that, the chief justice constituted a bench comprising himself, Justice Ahsan and Justice Akhtar to proceed with the PTI petition.
