Delimitation of constituencies: SC adjourns hearing on MQM’s plea

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Thursday adjourned till August 15 hearing into a petition of MQM-P, challenging the delimitation of constituencies in Sindh for local government elections and held that no further adjournment will be given in the matter.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial, heard the petition.

Barrister Farogh Naseem, counsel for the MQM-P, submitted that the ratio of population was not kept equal in the constituencies. He said in the areas where the MQM was successful, a union council (UC) comprised 90,000 people, whereas the areas where the Pakistan Peoples Party was successful, a union council comprised 40,000 people.

At this, Khalid Javed, counsel for the PPP, submitted that if this were to be accepted, then the constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies will come to an end, as some constituencies of the National Assembly consisted of 3 and some 9 lakh population.

At the outset of hearing, Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial asked the DG Law Election Commission whether the Election Commission was satisfied with the size of these constituencies. The DG Law, ECP, replied in the affirmative adding that these constituencies had been created in accordance with the law

The official contended that the provincial government was empowered to finalise the delimitation while the Election Commission had to conduct elections. Meanwhile, the court held that all the parties in the instant matter will be heard in detail with the warning that no further adjournment will be given in this regard as the second phase of local government elections were scheduled to be held on August 28. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till August 15.