Elections to be held under supervision of bureaucracy: Piqued by LHC judge order, SC makes ECP stick to polls schedule

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Friday suspended the Lahore High Court (LHC) order to suspend the Election Commission’s notification requesting returning officers from the bureaucracy for the Feb 8 general elections.

A three-member bench of the apex court — headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa — heard the ECP’s appeal against the LHC order halting the training of district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs). Justice Sardar Tariq and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah were the two other bench members.

The court stopped further proceedings of the Lahore High Court on a petition filed by the PTI Additional Secretary General Umair Niazi and directed the Election Commission to issue the election schedule before midnight.

A single bench of the Lahore High Court — led by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi — the other day while hearing the PTI petition, suspended the ECP’s notification appointing DROs, ROs and AROs from the Punjab bureaucracy for the polls. The petitioner also sought the court’s assistance in appointing judicial officers as returning officers (ROs.) After the LHC issued its order, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on Friday met the chief justice at the Supreme Court.

Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and the attorney general also attended the meeting and discussed in detail the situation following the LHC verdict. Later, the ECP filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against the LHC verdict and a bench was constituted to hear the ECP’s appeal in the evening.

The court, after hearing the ECP counsel, while dictating its orders, termed the LHC order irresponsible adding that it was delivered in haste. It also noted in the order that the ECP’s counsel had mentioned that the training of ROs and DROs will restart from Monday. The bench termed the LHC’s decision in contradiction with the Supreme Court’s earlier decision on the general election, holding that conducting elections was a constitutional requirement.

The apex court further noted in its order that the LHC bench issued an order exceeding its jurisdiction. It also issued a contempt of court notice to PTI’s Umair Niazi, seeking an explanation for violating the apex court’s order.

The court noted that according to the ECP counsel, this court had stated that no one would be allowed to hinder the elections. In its order, the court further noted that the ECP counsel also submitted that the petitioner was a member of the same political party, PTI, on whose plea the polls had been ordered by the apex court.

Earlier, during the hearing, the chief justice said he wished that senior-most judges should be part of this bench and he proposed the same. However, the CJP said Justice Ijazul Ahsan could not come due to his engagements. “Then, I asked Justice Mansoor Ali Shah,” the CJP said.

The chief justice hoped that elections would take place on February 8, 2024. In response, the ECP’s counsel, Sajeel Swati, stated that they were making every effort to ensure this happens.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked the ECP counsel as to who had approached the LHC to which he explained that PTI had filed the petition. He informed the court that PTI’s Additional Secretary General Umair Niazi had approached the LHC and challenged Sections 50 and 51 of the Election Act. “We will issue a contempt of court notice to Umair Niazi. We made our decision [on election] based on the petition of the same PTI,” the CJP remarked. The chief justice also grilled the ECP for not issuing the schedule of polls yet, asking why the training for ROs and DROs was stopped.

The Chief Justice, Qazi Faez Isa, then asked the ECP’s counsel Sajeel Swati what was the hurry that he had to appear before the court. Swati replied that their petition regarding the February 8 elections needed to be heard today. He then informed the court that the LHC had suspended the commission’s notification to appoint ROs and DROs. “The LHC’s order stopped the election process,” Swati submitted.

When the court asked the lawyer to explain the issue further, he said Umair Niazi had moved the LHC seeking the appointment of DROs and ROs from the judiciary and not from the executive. Accepting the PTI’s petition, he said, the LHC suspended the commission’s notification.

The lawyer further said that for the ECP, its priority was the judicial officers, but the judiciary declined. Swati told the court that the PTI had demanded transparent elections under Article 218 and removed the provision of appointing DROs and ROs from the bureaucracy forever. He further submitted that the PTI had also prayed to the Lahore High Court that returning officers be appointed from the judiciary.

“This section could have been challenged any time, so why is it being challenged now? Did the LHC also suspend the Sindh, KP, and Balochistan ROs’ appointments?” Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wondered.

The chief justice asked whether Umair Niazi’s LHC petition could stop the entire polling process across the country. “Umair Niazi’s petition is in contempt of the Supreme Court’s order,” the CJP remarked saying it was a bid to derail democracy.

The court admitted the ECP’s appeal for regular hearing, issued notices to the federal and provincial caretaker governments and adjourned the hearing for date-in-office (indefinite period).

Meanwhile, soon after the apex court’s direction, the Election Commission of Pakistan late night issued the election schedule, clearing the way for nationwide electioneering. According to the schedule, the returning officers will issue a public notice on December 19 and candidates will be able to file their nomination papers from December 20 to 22.

The names of the nominated candidates will be published on December 23, while the nomination papers will be scrutinized from December 24 to 30. The last date for the filing of appeals against decisions of returning officers on acceptance or rejection of nomination papers is January 3, whereas the last date for deciding appeals by the appellate tribunal is January 10. The revised list of candidates will be published on January 11 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature and publication of a revised list of candidates is January 12. This will be followed by the allotment of election symbols to the candidates on January 13.

During an informal chat with reporters after returning from the apex court, the Chief Election Commissioner, Sikandar Sultan Raja, said he had never said that elections would be delayed. He also said if anyone had an objection to a particular returning officer, the Election Commission could be approached, and he could be replaced. Raja maintained that level playing field was being provided to all the political parties, including PTI, and also assured that if a political party was allowed to hold a public meeting in a particular city, then others would also qualify for the same treatment. The CEC emphasized that he was not averse to the PTI, as they had nominated him the chief election commissioner and added the founding leader of PTI was his favourite player.

The Election Commission also issued an order, which was communicated to all the four provincial election commissioners that the remaining training of ROs would be held on December 17-18, whereas December 19 had been fixed as the day for DROs training now.

The CEC conceded that the security situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was serious but they were praying for an improvement. About the cases related to the PTI, he said all the cases will be decided on merit. Raja said it was his strong desire that the political leadership should sit together to resolve the country’s problems. He expressed gratitude to the apex court for ‘taking the Election Commission out of the trouble’.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) Friday hailed the Supreme Court’s decision and said it was preparing for the November 8 general elections.

Talking to media persons in Lahore, PMLN Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said the manifesto committee was busy with its work for the last 12 days and meetings of the party’s Central Parliamentary Board were also being held under the chairmanship of Nawaz Sharif. As the entire nation is focused on elections, suspending the appointment of ROs by the PTI was a heinous conspiracy against democracy, he said. “As a result of the no-confidence motion, when Niazi government ended, PTI continuously tried to spread chaos and anarchy in the country. By dismissing both the Punjab and KP governments, they committed a suicide attack on democracy,” he said.

The heinous conspiracy of May 9 was to create chaos in the country and bring the people and forces face to face against each other, he further said. He said Imran kept making such statements to create chaos adding the PTI would not be allowed to run away from the election.

The Pakistan Peoples Party chose silence over the Supreme Court’s decision to suspend the Lahore High Court decision and announcement of the election schedule. Though efforts were made to get a response from the PPP leadership, nobody picked up the phone for the party’s reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision and announcement of election schedule. However, in charge of the PPP’s Labour Forum Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed posted on his handle on X that the PPP first campaigned for the election date and pressed for the release of the schedule. He was of the view that a spectacle had been created in the country. “What is the Election Commission doing? Does the Election Commission not have district election officers? Don’t they have 272 people to be ROs,” he stated.

He said holding the election was the ECP’s responsibility and it should take full responsibility. “Why did it use the other’s shoulder,” he remarked, saying the deputy commissioners had become the ‘B’ team of PMLN and funds were being released in all the districts. The Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) announced it stood firm on ensuring elections on February 8. In a statement, PPP Parliamentarians Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said the party was committed to its stance on the February 8 elections, and the Election Commission must adhere to the election date. The Supreme Court and Election Commission should eliminate any ambiguity on people’s right to vote on the given election date, he said. He demanded the perception of facilitation to any party of the civil administration, under the supervision of caretaker government, must be removed. He said only those elements wanted to delay the elections who were not able to face the people.