IHC hears ECP’s appeal against Islamabad LG polls

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 06 Jan 2023

Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday heard the intra-court appeal filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the local government (LG) elections that were scheduled to be held on December 31.

The commission did not hold elections in the federal capital on the given date despite the high court’s order.

It is notable that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) had filed a contempt of court petitions against the ECP for not holding elections.

A division bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition today.

IHC chief justice expressed displeasure with the additional attorney general and ECP.

During the hearing, the chief justice remarked that the government and the electoral body challenged the court’s decision of holding the LG polls on December 31 but were presenting baseless points.

The bench asked on what basis they would issue notices on the intra-court appeal.

He directed both to come prepared for the next hearing.

Sources on Sunday reported that the commission had started preparations for holding LG polls in the capital city.

Sources said that the ballot papers had been handed over to all returning officers (ROs) on the holiday.

Earlier, President Arif Alvi had returned the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2022 without approval by exercising his power under clause (1) (b) of Article 75 of the Constitution.

The president said that due to this bill, the local bodies’ elections will be further delayed.

He said that due to the hasty steps of the federal government, the election process had been delayed twice already, which was not appropriate for democracy.