- IHC sought a written statement from the ECP
- IHC CJ sought assurances the UCs will not be further increased
- The judge asked if ECP announced the election schedule
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday sought a written statement from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the local body elections in 125 union councils of the federal capital.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Saman Raffat Imtiaz heard the intra-court appeals of ECP and federation against the decision of a single-member bench. The bench asked the ECP to inform it how much time would be required to conduct the LG polls.
The chief justice asked that if the ECP announced the elections schedule in 125 union councils of the capital then what would be the guarantee that the UCs’ number wouldn’t be increased again.
He also asked why the paragraph regarding the direct election of mayor and deputy mayors was excluded from the local government bill.
Additional Attorney General Munawar Dogal said that Additional Attorney General Aamer Rehman was not present as he was present in the Supreme Court for two important cases. He said the AGP would give arguments on this matter and urged the court to adjourn the case.
The court was told that the bill has been passed to increase the number of union councils to 125. The election of the mayor has been left open.
“What is the guarantee that there were be elections on 125 seats and not 135?” the chief justice. The AAG replied that there was no justification to increase the number of UCs. The chief justice replied that the system must be stopped.
Justice Saman Raffat questioned under which section the election can be postponed. Lawyer Taimur Aslam the application of the election commission has become ineffective after the bill was passed. He said the issue of the number of Union Council has been resolved while separating the election of the mayor shows the ill-intention of the government.
The court questioned why the reforms were not introduced in the system, adding that the number of UCs could be increased through the executive order. Justice Farooq said that now the court was expecting an affidavit from the federal government.
“Tell them how much time they need for the elections on 125 Union Council. It is unfortunate that the court is asking for a statement on these matters. These are the tasks for you to do yourself,” the judge said.
The court directed the AAG to ask the secretary interior or any other responsible to give a statement before it regarding the UCs. The court also sought the written comments from ECP and adjourned the case till Monday, February 20.
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