Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday admitted intra-court appeals of the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), challenging a single court decision that had directed the polls body to conduct local government elections in Islamabad on December 31, 2022.
Court directed ECP to hold elections
On Friday last week, the IHC single bench had directed the ECP to conduct local government elections in Islamabad on Saturday stating that it was the responsibility of federal and provincial governments on time. The IHC single bench had stated that the federal government was gratuitously dragging its feet in prolonging the already delayed local government elections.
The ECP and the federal government had filed intra-court appeals, taking the stance that it was impossible to conduct elections in such a short time and without carrying out delimitations in certain union councils.
The IHC while rejecting the ECP and the government’s plea to nullify the single bench’s decision on polls issued notices to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamat-e-Islami, the two opposition parties that had challenged the postponement of the local government elections in the court.
The intra-court appeals will now be taken up on January 9.
The ECP has taken the plea that it was “practically impossible” to hold elections on such short notice as logistical arrangements could not be put in place to move the election equipment and neither the polling staff was available to hold the exercise.
The local government elections were earlier scheduled to be held on December 31, before the federal government issued a notification increasing the number of union councils in Islamabad from 101 to 125, practically putting off the LG polls.
Following the federal government’s decision, the ECP put off the elections stating the polls could not be held without fresh delimitation
On Friday, IHC single bench headed by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir only quashed the federal government’s notification but also the ECP’s notification to postpone the elections.
The IHC announced the verdict on petitions moved by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Jamaat-i-Islami challenging the postponement of polls.
In the intra-court appeal, the ECP has pleaded to hear the hear case on Saturday (today) on an emergency basis. The ECP has made the PTI and the JI as respondents in the intra-court appeal.
