ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) petitioned the SC on Saturday to overturn the ECP’s Punjab election delay.
The party said in the appeal that the ECP’s judgement “violates the Constitution as well as the apex court order”.
The party petitioned the SC because “the matter included in the petition is of public importance with reference to enforcement of fundamental rights of the millions of people of Pakistan. Notably the people of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P)”.
This week, the electoral watchdog unexpectedly postponed Punjab’s election. ECP delayed elections till October 8 because it couldn’t hold transparent and peaceful votes on April 30.
It added that the law-enforcement agencies, finance, defence, and interior ministries, Punjab chief secretary, and others opposed the polls on various reasons. Therefore the elections not to held in Punjab.
The ECP then withdrew its Punjab election notification and postponed provincial assembly voting to October 8, 2023. ECP stated that a new election schedule would be announced.
The highest court ordered that President Arif Alvi establish the Punjab Assembly election date and the Khyber. Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) governor decide the K-P assembly election date in consultation with the ECP earlier this month.
During two days of the hearing. A five-judge bigger bench of the top court ruled 3-2 on a suo motu petition over the two provincial assembly election dates on March 1.
Imran Khan ordered then-chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi to dissolve the Punjab Assembly in January. In the same month, Imran disbanded the K-P Legislature.
