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Friday March 29, 2024

Attorney general, ECP put on notice on plea against LG polls schedule

By Jamal Khurshid
June 09, 2022

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued notices to federal and provincial law officers, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Sindh local government secretary and others on a petition filed by a Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MPA and others against issuance of the ECP’s notifications with regard to holding of the local government elections in Sindh.

MQM-P MPA Kanwar Naveed Jamil and former district chairmen had submitted in the petition that the ECP’s notifications with regard to the local government polls in Sindh were issued in violation of the local government and ECP laws.

The petitioners’ counsel, M Tariq Mansoor, submitted that the full composition of the ECP, which meant the chief election commissioner and four members from each province, was a mandatory constitutional requirement to be met under the Article 218 of the Constitution.

He submitted that the ECP issued the impugned notifications with regard to the local government elections in Sindh in violation of the law as the commission’s composition was not complete and its two seats were lying vacant.

He informed the SHC that the Sindh government had still not complied with the direction of the Supreme Court that directed the provincial government to make amendments to the local government law in conformity with the Article 140-A of the Constitution.

The lawyer submitted that the apex court had directed the Sindh government to establish the local governments possessing meaningful authority and responsibility in the political, administrative and financial matters. He submitted that the sections 74 and 75(1) of the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 had also been declared against the principle enshrined in the Objectives Resolution and the fundamental rights enacted in the Articles 9, 14 and 25 of the Constitution.

The high court was requested to declare the impugned notifications issued by the ECP for holding of local government polls in two phases as unlawful as they were issued without ensuring the mandatory constitutional commandment of the complete constitution of the ECP. The petitioners requested the SHC to direct the provincial government to comply with directives of the Supreme Court and make necessary amendments to the local government law that shall be in conformity with the Article 140-A of the Constitution.

A division bench of the SHC comprising Justice Mohammad Junaid Ghaffar and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito, after hearing the preliminary arguments, issued notices to the attorney general, Sindh advocate general, ECP and others, and called their comments on August 9.