LAHORE: The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down a request of Awami Muslim League head Sheikh Rashid to order polling in his constituency NA-60, Rawalpindi, after the Election Commission of Pakistan suspended elections there following the conviction of his rival Hanif Abbasi, of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, in the ephedrine quota case.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, refused to issue a stay order against a Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench decision and advised the counsel for Mr Ahmad to not settle for a walkover. Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijazul Ahsan were the other members of the bench.

Advocate Sardar Abdul Raziq, representing the AML chief, argued that by postponing elections in the constituency, the ECP had gone beyond its jurisdiction. He said under the Elections Act 2018, the only provision for delaying polling in a constituency was the death of a candidate.

Perhaps Sheikh Rashid should test his standing in the second constituency he is contesting the polls from, says CJP

“How can an election be held in the absence of a major party?” Justice Bandial asked the counsel. The judge noted that around 40 per cent voters of the constituency, if polling was held in the given situation, would be deprived of their right to vote for the candidate of their choice. CJP Nisar noted that the AML leader was also contesting the election from another constituency, so it would be good for him to test his position there.

Posing a challenge to the Rawalpindi leader, the chief justice suggested allowing disqualified Hanif Abbasi of the PML-N to also contest the polls, if the petitioner stuck to his demand for election.

The counsel argued that polling had not been delayed in the constituency where Maryam Nawaz was supposed to contest, despite her conviction in the Avenfield case. He said the ECP had delayed the election owing to a pressure campaign run by certain media sections and the social media. He argued that no candidate could be punished for the disqualification of another candidate.

The bench, however, observed that the covering candidate for the PML-N from the constituency had already withdrawn in NA-60. The bench further observed that the election was not practically possible in NA-60 in the present circumstances.

CJP Nisar observed that the points in the petition required interpretation which could not be carried out without detailed hearing. Therefore, the bench issued a notice to the ECP for a date to be fixed after the July 25 general election and dismissed the application that had sought relief for the AML chief through orders for polling in NA-60. Earlier, a single bench of the LHC in Rawalpindi had also upheld the ECP’s decision to put off polling.

NA-127

A voter on Tuesday filed a plea in the Lahore High Court requesting delay in elections in NA-127, the constituency from which Maryam Nawaz was supposed to be contesting her first general election, up till her disqualification because of her conviction in the Avenfield case.

Imran Butt had filed a petition stating that the ECP had postponed the election in NA-60, Rawalpindi, after the disqualification of PML-N’s candidate Hanif Abbasi.

However, he complained that the ECP had not delayed polling in NA-127 after the disqualification of Maryam Nawaz. He asked the court to order the ECP to defer elections in the constituency.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2018