LAHORE: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is in no mood to extend contracts of Lahore election tribunal’s member Kazim Ali Malik and other two tribunals of Punjab and asked the Lahore High Court chief justice to name judges for the new appointments, Dawn has learnt.

“Since the contract period of the election tribunals have not been further extended after Aug 31, 2015, by the Election Commission of Pakistan and a number of petitions are pending with the tribunals, which are required to be entrusted to any other election tribunal,” says a letter written by the additional director general (Legal) of the ECP to registrar of the LHC.

The ECP had on June 3, 2013, appointed Kazim Ali Malik, Rana Zahid Mahmood and Javed Rasheed Mehboobi, all retired district and sessions judges, to act as election tribunals for trial and disposal of election petitions regarding general election of 2013 and subsequent by-elections in Punjab. The members were initially appointed for one year term that was extendable and then they used to get extension every two months.

The letter bearing a stamp of “most immediate” further says that the chief election commissioner has to appoint election tribunals for the disposal of the pending cases under Section 57 of Representation of People Act, 1976. It says the judges of the respective high courts have been appointed as election tribunals in the past.

Kazim Ali Malik among those set to depart

The commission has requested the LHC chief justice to approve names of the judges for the appointment as election tribunals as soon as possible.

The ECP has sought names of judges for two election tribunals at the principal seat (Lahore) of the LHC and one at Multan Bench.

The LHC is yet to respond to the letter. It had previously refused a similar request of the ECP soon after the 2013 general election, citing the huge workload before the judges. Later, the commission had appointed retired district and sessions judges as members of the election tribunals.

Kazim Ali Malik was initially appointed as Bahawalpur election tribunal, however, was later transferred to Lahore tribunal after its member Saifur Rehman resigned for personal reasons.

Rana Zahid Mahmood is working as Multan tribunal while Javed Rasheed Mehboobi as Faisalabad tribunal.

The election tribunals of Lahore and Multan have recently issued most awaited judgments, de-seating National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq from NA-122 Lahore and another MNA of PML-N Siddique Khan Baloch from NA-154, Lodhran.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2015

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