PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), federal government and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor to respond to a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf petition seeking orders for the ECP to hold election to the provincial assembly within 90 days of its dissolution in January or with the minimum possible deviation from that deadline.

A bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Shakeel Ahmad fixed April 19 for next hearing into the petition directing the respondents, including the ECP secretary, KP governor, and federal and KP governments, to file their respective replies before that date.

The petitioners, including Speaker of the last KP Assembly Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani and PTI secretary general Asad Umar, requested the court to declare illegal and unconstitutional a letter written by the KP governor to the ECP last month recommending Oct 8 as the election date and a subsequent notification by the commission to fix that date for polls.

The KP Assembly was dissolved by the governor on Jan 18 on the advice of the then chief minister.

Petitioners want PA polls in 90 days or with minimum deviation from that deadline

Despite persistent campaigning by the PTI for holding polls within the constitutional deadline of 90 days since the dissolution of the assembly, the issue lingered on.

The ECP issued the impugned notification on March 27 fixing Oct 8 as the polling day.

Mr Ghani appeared before the bench in person and said counsel for petitioners Barrister Gohar Khan couldn’t present his arguments in the case due to a strike by lawyers.

He contended that while the Constitution was clear on the issue and declared that election to an assembly should be held within a period of 90 days of its dissolution, the ECP and KP governor had been violating the Constitution.

Mr Ghani said that the constitutional deadline for election was set to end in a few days.

He said that the ECP as well as the governor had committed an unconstitutional act by fixing Oct 8 for those polls.

In the petition, the PTI leaders requested the court to declare that election to the provincial assembly is to be held not later than 90 days of its dissolution, subject to the barest minimum in present circumstances.

They asked the court to direct KP governor Haji Ghulam Ali or President Dr Arif Alvi to announce the election date while conforming to the legal framework.

The respondents in the petition are the ECP through its secretary, the federal government through secretaries of interior, finance and law and justice ministries, the president through his principal secretary, the KP governor through his principal secretary and the provincial chief secretary.

The petitioners contended that the date announced by the KP governor was contrary to the clear mandate of the Constitution and tantamount to depriving the petitioners and all other citizens of this province of the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 17 of the Constitution to contest and participate in election.

They argued that under Article 242(2) of the Constitution when the national or a provincial assembly was dissolved, a general election must be held within 90 days and the results of the election had to be declared no later than 14 days after the consolidation of results.

The petitioners said that the intention of the Constitution was that the election had to be held within the stipulated period and that it couldn’t be delayed on the pretext that finances or security personnel for them were not provided by the federal government.

They said that the PTI petitioned the PHC on Jan 30 for ordering polls within 90 days but the petition was disposed of after the Supreme Court decided that matter on March 1.

The petitioners said that the apex court had directed the KP governor to announce election date for the provincial assembly polls after consulting the ECP.

They added that the governor wrote the impugned letter to the ECP on March 24 proposing Oct 8 as the polling day.

The petitioners contended that the ECP, without applying its independent mind and making any reservations, accepted that letter and issued the impugned notification on March 27.

They insisted that the ECP was bound to implement the Supreme Court’s judgements and had no powers or jurisdiction to overrule or review them.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2023