Major political parties of the country on Saturday cried foul over court verdicts setting aside the nomination forms for the upcoming general elections as well as declaring delimitation of eight provincial constituencies in Quetta district null and void.
Pakistan People’s Party said any amendments to the nomination papers should be made by the parliament only. A press conference was held in Karachi where senior PPP leaders Sherry Rehman and Khursheed Shah stressed that no ‘objectionable changes’ had been made to the nomination papers. They noted that the Senate elections had also been conducted through the same nomination papers.
“ECP does not have the mandate to bring any changes to the nomination papers, which were passed through an Act of Parliament that had consensus by opposition and government,” Khursheed Shah said, adding that any required changes could only be made by the parliament. Shah said that all political parties, including PPP, want the polls to be held on time.
“LHC’s decision has affected the election schedule and at present, it seems like the general elections will be delayed,” Sherry said. “ECP had said the elections would be held on time and we are hopeful that the same will be the case,” she said, adding that every institution should make efforts to ensure timely elections in the country.
However, Shah said that the a recent resolution passed by the Balochistan Assembly and Pervez Khattak’s letter had cast doubts on timely elections. Former speaker of National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq announced that he will file an appeal against the LHC verdict rejecting nomination papers for the upcoming elections. “Justice Ayesha Malik’s decision on nomination papers came at an odd time. The petition was filed in December 2017,” said Sadiq, while speaking to media in Islamabad. “The judgment came only after the tenure of the National Assembly ended.”
The former speaker said had the issue been given a chance to go to the Lower House, there would have been a debate and discussion on the matter but that chance wasn’t given. “The verdict came even after the announcement of the election schedule. What does this signify?” he questioned. “Only the judge can tell us what the reason behind the delay in the verdict was. An identical petition was also rejected by the court,” he said. “Even the Senate elections were held according to the same nomination papers,” he added.
The former speaker elaborated that all parties had decided to make amends in the forms. “I will file a petition, I’ll call for this decision to be nullified. I’ll plea in my petition to not change the election dates,” he reiterated.
Sadiq said he had approached the PML-N and the PPP on the matter and will contact others as well. The election act was passed with consensus of all the political parties, he said. “Will they now pass judgments on bills and acts passed by parliament? If the forms aren’t of their liking, will they reject them too?”
Meanwhile, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani has warned that any delay in elections would destabilise the state.
In a statement, Rabbani said the events of the past few days including the resolution of the Balochistan Assembly and various decisions of the superior courts were creating an atmosphere of uncertainty with regards to the holding of general elections on July 25. “The failure of the state to fulfil its constitutional obligation under Article 224 of the constitution of holding elections within 60 days will cast dark shadows on the federation,” he said, adding that the federation under no circumstances could afford further destabilisation of the democratic process as it would lead to severe polarisation between the federation and the provinces and also among the provinces.
Meanwhile, the PPP and PML-N have reportedly decided to file constitutional petitions in the apex court, pleading it to issue orders that the elections be held on July 25. Both parties can also start a protest movement in consultation with their allies if any attempt is made to delay the elections.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said that chances of delay in elections are slim. “PTI understands that the elections should be held on time,” Chaudhry reiterated, adding that PTI will also take up the case legally if there is a delay in elections.
PML-N leader Raja Zafarul Haque, however, said that he met with the election commission officials where they stated that the way high courts were cancelling delimitations, it would be very difficult to hold elections on time. Haque said that the ECP authorities informed him that they were reviewing legalities on the issue.
Published in Daily Times, June 3rd 2018.
