MUZAFFARABAD: The Election Commission of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Friday issued a partly amended schedule for elections on four seats of the AJK Council.

Polling for the council seats was scheduled for May 15. However, on May 12, a single-member bench of the AJK High Court, comprising Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja, refrained the chief election commissioner from conducting the elections till May 23.

The ruling was issued after the judge admitted a writ petition filed by Mohammad Saghir Khan against the acceptance of nomination papers of Amjad Jalil by the returning officer.

Both Mr Khan and Mr Jalil had submitted their nominations as candidates of the ruling PPP.

Mr Khan had maintained that according to the relevant law, only those persons were eligible for candidature whose names were included in the voters’ list.

However, since Mr Jalil’s name did not figure in the 2011 voters list, the acceptance of his nomination papers was against the law.

The high court interim order regarding maintenance of the status quo ordered was challenged by four AJK ministers and another ruling PPP candidate in the AJK Supreme Court.

The apex court remanded the case to the high court with a direction to dispose it of in the light of the apex court’s May 11 judgment that conduction of the elections within 30 days of the occurrence of vacancy of seat(s) was the constitutional responsibility of the CEC.

On Friday, a larger bench of the high court, comprising Justice M. Tabassum Aftab Alvi, Justice Azhar Saleem Babar and Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja, nullified the acceptance of the nomination papers of Mr Jalil by the returning officer.

Following the decision, the CEC issued the revised schedule whereby the final lists of candidates would be displayed at 2pm on May 21 and polling would be held on May 23.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2016