SHC reserves judgment on JI, PTI’s petitions against delay in local bodies elections

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday reserved judgment on petitions filed by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against consecutive postponement of the local government elections in Karachi.

During Thursday’s hearing of petitions filed by the JI and PTI against several deferment of the local government elections in Karachi, a division bench of the high court headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh had asked the provincial elections commissioner when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would hold the local bodies polls in Karachi.

In his reply, the provincial election commissioner submitted that the ECP was ready to conduct elections subject to provision of the requisite security deployment by the police and Rangers. He said the ECP would conduct the local bodies polls within 15 days. The high court, however, observed that the ECP could also hold the polls in the Karachi and Hyderabad divisions in phases.

The Sindh advocate general submitted that the ECP was responsible for conducting the local bodies elections. He submitted that the Sindh government was ready to hold the polls. Filing a statement before the high court with regard to the availability of the police and paramilitary force for the elections, the advocate general submitted that the petitioners had wrongly invoked the writ jurisdiction which clearly involved factual and political controversies.

He submitted that the Supreme Court had held that the sole and competent forum to decide factual and legal issues pertaining to the elections was the ECP. The advocate general submitted that the availability of police and the Rangers was purely a question of fact and this would not fall under the writ jurisdiction and requested the high court to consider the provisions of the Constitution, Election Act and Sindh Local Government Act in this regard.

When the high court asked the Sindh inspector general of police about providing security services to the ECP for holding the local bodies elections, the police chief submitted that the deployment of around 40,000 police force was required for holding the local bodies elections in the Karachi and Hyderabad divisions.

He submitted that around 3,000 cops had been deployed for the security of the defence exhibition 2022 being held in Karachi. The Rangers director general submitted in a statement that the Sindh Rangers would provide 4,000 personnel for the local bodies elections as per directives of the ministry of interior.

A counsel for the PTI submitted that the ECP had complete authority to hold the local bodies elections, and requested the SHC to direct the commission to hold the polls within the shortest possible time.

A counsel for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), which had filed an application for becoming an intervener in the petitions of the PTI and JI, submitted that various issues pertaining to the delimitation of union councils, voter lists and election provisions had been pending till date. He said that in case the local bodies polls were held without hearing the concerns of the MQM-P, there was serious apprehension that the applicant’s right so secured under the articles 17, 25 and 10-A of the constitution would be violated.

The JI’s counsel opposed the MQM-P’s application and submitted that the Supreme Court had already decided the MQM-P’s similar petition and directed the ECP to hold the local bodies elections without any delay.

After hearing the arguments, the SHC reserved its judgment on the petitions. The petitioners had submitted that the term of the last local bodies had expired in August 2020, but instead of holding the elections, the Sindh government appointed administrators throughout the province.

They said the provincial government was reluctant to hold the elections and had deliberately delayed the delimitation process by not providing suggestions, details and required maps for the delimitation of union committees as per the local government law and 2017 Election Act.

They said the ECP, under the constitution, was bound to conduct the local government polls within 120 days after the end of the previous local bodies’ term. They submitted that the ECP’s decision for the postponement of the polls in Karachi was arbitrary and the provincial government was not interested in holding the polls in the Karachi division in order to retain its control over the powers and resources of its municipal institutions.