ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Atta Bandyal on Tuesday said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should process constituencies in a transparent manner.
Chief Justice Bandyal’s remarks came while chairing a two-judge bench, which was hearing petitions challenging the delimitation of provincial constituencies PS 7, 8 and 9 Shikarpur, which were challenged in the Supreme Court in 2018.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Bandyal remarked that the issue of constituencies is of public interest and has been raised in the Supreme Court several times.
“The Election Commission should delimit in a transparent manner,” the top judge asserted, adding that even a slight change in the constituency by Tapdar could affect the votes a candidate gets.
Moreover, Chief Justice Bandyal inquired when the general elections are being held. Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad shrugged his shoulders at this.
“So far, the date of the elections has not been decided. The Chief Justice said that the Election Commission should resolve all the issues before the elections.
This issue is more sensitive in Sindh. Often there are complaints that the delimitation in the province was not correct,” he added.
After hearing the arguments, the Supreme Court sent the matter back to the Election Commission.
