ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the federal government on Saturday challenged the orders of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to hold local body elections in the federal capital today (December 31).
The election body had requested an urgent hearing on the intra-court appeal filed in the High Court. However, the IHC registrar’s office objected to the appeal saying it lacked the required documents.
Sources say that ECP’s GAIL team is working on clearing the objections.
Meanwhile, the federal government also challenged the IHC order through a separate intra-court appeal.
On Friday, the IHC accepted the pleas of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), quashing the ECP’s decision to postpone the local body polls, and directed the electoral body to conduct the polls as per the polls. schedule.
On December 27, the ECP had canceled the schedule of local body elections on December 31 after the change in the union councils of the federal capital.
However, the high court, in its brief one-page order, asked the federal government to ensure that it “assists the Election Commission in conducting local government elections”.
The order further said that the Ministry of Interior’s notification of December 19 has been declared null and void and similarly the Election Commission’s notification of December 27 is also null and void.
The election was postponed by the Election Commission after the federal government increased the number of Union Councils (UCs) in the capital without taking the former into confidence. Before reserving the verdict, the court had expressed its displeasure at the attitude of the federal government.
“We are disappointed with the government [lack of involvement],” the court said.
Emergency meeting of ECP
The federal government has decided to challenge the Islamabad High Court (IHC) order to hold local body elections in Islamabad on December 31 (today).
Additional Attorney General Manoor Iqbal Dogal confirmed the move and said that the ECP is going to file an intra-court appeal against the decision.
The ECP held an emergency meeting following the orders of the IHC and decided to file an intra-court appeal against the court’s verdict.
Sources said the Election Commission decided to take at least a week to conduct the polls and said it needed time to print and distribute the ballot papers.
Election Commission officials also held a meeting with Dagal on the incompetence in conducting the elections. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Raja also reached Islamabad and held a meeting on the situation.
Sources said that the Election Commission has expressed its inability to conduct local body elections in one day. It added that polling and deployment of security personnel will become a major challenge for the Election Commission.
Sources said that more than 14,000 members of the polling staff were teachers and employees of other departments and they were on winter vacation, due to which it was difficult for the Election Commission to conduct the election. Delivery of polling materials to polling stations and setting up of polling booths is a big challenge.
‘Federal government is not ready to conduct local elections in ICT’
Minutes after the IHC directed to hold local body polls today, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the federal government is not in a position to hold local body polls in Islamabad immediately.
“We respect the court [Islamabad High Court], but it is not possible to hold elections as arrangements cannot be made in such a short period of time,” the federal minister told JEE News.
He further said that 1000 polling stations need security, election equipment is not yet deployed at the stations and polling staff will also be required. “It’s not possible.”
The minister also said that since “ground realities” do not allow the government to ensure the conduct of elections, the Center is going to file an intra-court appeal against the order.
“This order was issued in the evening after office hours. How is [election] arrangements possible? What could be a stronger reason than that,” Sanaullah said about his hopes for the application being approved. are
The minister said he was not surprised by the order, but noted that the directions should be “enforceable” and the IHC’s latest order would ensure that “elections do not take place”.
Sanaullah said that a new schedule should be issued for the elections, and there was no other way to hold the elections as he rejected the support of the Election Commission.
“It is not possible for the commission [to help]. We cannot provide security to 1,000 polling stations in such a short period of time. Islamabad police is not enough because Rangers will have to be deployed and FC will have to be called.
Sanaullah said he foresees elections in the next three to four months as the new delimitation will take time.
