The Supreme Court, on Thursday, rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) appeal for a reconsideration of the court’s prior decision mandating the Punjab Assembly elections be held on May 14.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial commented during the case’s hearing, “The court will always step in when there’s a breach of the Constitution.“
Background of the Dispute
Earlier in April, the apex court, led by a trio including CJP Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar, deemed ECP’s decision to schedule the polls for October 8 instead of April 30 as “unlawful”. This resulted in the Supreme Court directing the ECP to organize the Punjab elections by May 14. Despite this directive, the ECP sought the Supreme Court’s reconsideration after the May 14 deadline.
In their detailed 14-page petition, ECP argued that the judiciary did not possess the right to dictate election dates, stating, “Such authorities are provided for in the Constitution, but not within the jurisdiction of the court.” The ECP further expressed concern that the Supreme Court had overstepped its bounds, inadvertently altering the country’s constitutional framework.
The Supreme Court, in a proactive move on April 14, directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to designate and release Rs21 billion to the ECP for the Punjab elections. However, by April 18, the ECP conveyed their non-receipt of the designated funds.
Highlighting the challenges, CJP Bandial suggested on April 20 that the apex court might consider modifying the election date, provided a mutual agreement was reached amongst all political entities. The Supreme Court further clarified that any dialogue between the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over the election timeline was undertaken voluntarily, without the court’s explicit directive.
Despite various dialogue sessions, a mutual consensus remained elusive. Consequently, PTI approached the Supreme Court on May 3, urging the enforcement of the April 4 directive, which mandated the Punjab Assembly elections for May 14.
It’s noteworthy that earlier in January, the Punjab Assembly had been dissolved on the recommendation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, as part of a strategy to compel the central government to initiate early elections.
