Caretaker PM directs govt to file appeal against Lahore High Court’s verdict on nomination papers

Supr

• Pakistan’s election commission is seeking guidance from the Supreme Court on Lahore and Balochistan high court verdicts that have cast doubt on the timing of the elections
• The commission has to hold general elections within 60 days of the dissolution of the assembly after the government completed its term on Thursday

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Justice (retd) Nasirul Mulk on Saturday directed the Attorney General Office to file an appeal against a recent Lahore High Court’s verdict in which it directed Election Commission to revise nomination papers for general elections candidates.
The Prime Minister Office said in a statement that the directive has been issued to ensure the general elections are held on time.
Shortly after taking oath of the office on Friday morning, the caretaker prime minister categorically said the general elections would be held on time and any delay would not be allowed.
Earlier in the day, the election commission also announced to approach the Supreme Court for a clarification regarding the Lahore High Court’s verdict to avert any possible delay in the general elections that are scheduled to be held on July 25.
The high court on Friday told the ECP to revise its nomination forms for elections to include information such as candidates’ educational background along with tax and criminal records. The information had been excluded by parliament through the Elections Act 2017.
Additional Secretary of the Election Commission, Akhtar Nazeer, said the ECP had decided to ask the Supreme Court for guidance on the high court’s verdict because “there is a confusion in the judgment.”
He said the high court had directed the election commission to improve the nomination form for candidates, but had not declared the nomination form prepared by parliament null and void.
“We want guidance of the Supreme Court on how the election commission should deal with the matter,” he said. “We think it should be the right of the election commission to formulate a nomination form for candidates.”
Nazeer also announced to challenge a recent Balochistan High Court verdict that declared the delimitation of eight provincial constituencies in the district of Quetta as null and void.
The election commission announced a schedule for elections on Thursday that required candidates to file nomination papers between June 2 and June 6. However, it has now said that it will not accept nominations until June 4.
The additional secretary explained that a delay in receiving nominations would be adjusted by two to three days, and general elections would still be held on July 25.
However, the latest developments, including the high court verdicts, have cast doubts on the upcoming general elections.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, expressed his concern over possible election delays and said he would petition the Supreme Court over the Lahore High Court verdict.
“It was a unanimous decision of parliament to amend the nomination forms. How can a single bench of the Lahore High Court declare it null and void?” he asked.
Pakistan’s national assembly completed its five-year constitutional term at midnight on Thursday. The ECP is required to hold elections within 60 days of the dissolution of the assembly.
Political analyst Kanwar Dilshad, a former ECP secretary, said it was up to the Supreme Court how it wanted to address the issue.
The matter had to be decided in the next couple of days, he said, or the general elections could be delayed.
“If the general elections are not held as per the announced election schedule, this will damage the credibility of the election commission and the whole election process,” he told Arab News.
“The election commission should seek permission from the Supreme Court to prepare a cogent nomination paper for candidates to bar the entry of criminals and tax defaulters in parliament,” he said.