Our Correspondent
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has challenged the Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s single bench verdict — directing the polls body to hold local government elections in Islamabad, in less than 24 hours — in an intra-court appeal.
Court decision about polls
On Friday, 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 IHC said that the federal government has failed to satisfy the court with a cogent reason for the delay in holding the local government elections.
In the intra-court appeal, the ECP has taken the plea that local government elections in Islamabad cannot be held on December 31 on such short notice.
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.
