ISLAMABAD, 28 August 2005 — Pakistan’s Supreme Court yesterday restrained the Election Commission from notifying names of the winning candidates in local government elections who hold degrees from madrasas.
The court’s decision, which was faxed here by the Deputy Registrar, Bashir Janjua to the commission directed that the results of the winning candidates bearing madrasa certificates should not be released through official gazette notification.
The Supreme Court comprising of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokar and Justice Syed Saiyeed Ashad passed this order in the case of Shaukat Ali and others who were earlier permitted to contest the elections provisionally. Shaukat Ali and a few others, according to unofficial results, have won in the local bodies elections held on Aug. 25.
A total of 222,769 candidates contested the elections held in two phases in the 110 districts across the country.
Deciding on various petitions filed by a number of candidates, the court had ruled that only those religious degree holders with matriculation certificates (equivalent to the O level) in religious subjects, as well as in English, Urdu and Pakistan studies, would be allowed to contest.
The ruling of the court was sought after the Lahore High Court banned candidates with religious degrees from contesting.
However, the Election Commission temporarily allowed the candidates with religious degrees to participate on the grounds they had been allocated election symbols before the court order.
The criterion to make formal education a must for candidates came against the backdrop of intended moves by the government to discourage “extremist” elements from holding public office.
Before the polls, President Pervez Musharraf had himself been campaigning, calling on people not to vote for extremists.
Musharraf is expected to stand for office in 2007 and he is widely expected to be voted in by the national and provincial assemblies that emerge from the general elections.
But analysts say it is yet to be seen how Musharraf will develop relations with the secular political forces like the party of Benazir Bhutto as he tries to sideline religious conservatives.
