By-polls in Punjab: ECP meets today after inconclusive talks with governor

LAHORE/PESHAWAR: Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman on Tuesday decided to approach the Lahore High Court (LHC) to seek clarity over his role in the consultative process for giving a date to hold by-elections in the province, the Geo News reported.

In a statement issued after a meeting was held on the LHC directive to finalise a date for the by-elections, Baligh’s spokesperson said there were some issues in the high court order that required clarification and interpretation.

“After consultation with legal and constitutional experts, the matter will be referred to the court,” said the spokesperson after meeting an Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) delegation. The three-member delegation, headed by the ECP secretary, called on the governor on the orders of Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja. The delegation would now brief the electoral body on its meeting with the governor.

In a handout released after the meeting, the electoral watchdog quoted the governor as saying that since the provincial assembly was not dissolved on his orders; under the Constitution, he was not authorised to give an election date. He told the ECP that his proposal would not be binding on the commission in such a situation. He said he did not want to take any extra-constitutional step and thus refrained from giving a date for the provincial assembly elections.

Separately, Raja has summoned a consultative meeting of the ECP on Wednesday (today) at 12pm at the ECP Secretariat to discuss the provincial assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday sought written responses from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on the date for holding by-elections in the province. A two-member bench comprising Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah heard a petition filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking the date for KP Assembly by-polls.

PTI leaders Azam Swati, Asad Qaiser, Shibli Faraz and Shah Farman appeared in the court. The court asked why the governor had not yet given a date for by-elections. At this, the KP advocate general said the governor still had time to give a date for by-elections as per the Constitution, adding that the chief secretary had submitted a reply today. Justice Ali ordered the governor to submit a written reply by Thursday in response to a letter sent to him by the electoral body seeking a date for the polls. The court asked what would be the future course of action if the ECP did not get the date today.

The PTI lawyer said the governor was not giving the date and was only making excuses. The court, after issuing notices, adjourned the hearing till Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court on Tuesday advised a petitioner not to lose patience and wait for 90 days for the implementation of a court order to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce a date for the by-elections in Punjab. “Let the timeline of 90 days pass and have some patience. I am sitting right here,” Justice Jawad Hassan told Advocate Azhar Siddique who had sought a direction to President Arif Alvi to announce the date for by-polls in the province.

The lawyer said the court had on February 10 directed the ECP and the governor to immediately announce the date for the by-elections after consultations. He said the order had not been complied with by the respondents. Therefore, the court should pass a direction to the president to allot a date for the elections. The judge made it clear to the lawyer that the court knew better how to get its orders implemented. He noted that the ECP had been holding meetings on the issue of elections date. “We should not go for confrontation. Being a constitutional office, the governor should be respected.”

The counsel then sought permission to withdraw the petition, which was granted.

Meanwhile, the hearing of a petition seeking contempt proceedings against the Punjab governor and the chief election commissioner (CEC) for not announcing a date for elections in the province despite a court order has been fixed before Justice Jawad Hassan for Wednesday (today).

Munir Ahmad has filed the petition, saying that a single bench on February 10 had directed the governor and the ECP to immediately announce the date for the by-elections to the Punjab Assembly. He said the respondents failed to comply with the court direction. The petitioner asked the court to initiate proceedings against the respondents for committing and aiding contempt of court by consciously failing to comply with the court orders.

Mumtaz Ali adds: Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja has summoned a consultative meeting of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for Wednesday (today) on elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies.

The meeting has been called here at the Election Commission Secretariat after a discussion between Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman and ECP’s three-member team failed to make headway regarding the date of polls for the Punjab Assembly.

In a related development, the Peshawar High Court has also sought a written reply from the electoral body and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor regarding the timely conduct of the election to the provincial assembly.

It is understood that the related issues for both provinces will be deliberated upon during the commission’s meeting, keeping in mind the overall security and financial matters as well. According to a statement issued by the commission’s Media Coordination and Outreach Wing, “In line with the Honourable High Court order, the Secretary Election Commission, Special Secretary, and Director General Law held a consultative meeting with the Governor of Punjab. The meeting was also attended by the Principal Secretary to Punjab Governor, the Chief Secretary, and the IGP.”

In the consultative meeting, the secretary briefed the governor that this meeting is being held on the instructions of the election commission to consult on the date of holding the election to the provincial assembly of Punjab as per the order of the high court.

In response to this, the governor said that since he had not dissolved the Punjab Assembly, he was not authorised under the Constitution to give the date of the election. In such a situation, his proposal will not be binding on the election commission.

He said that he does not want to take any extra-constitutional and illegal step. In addition, he said that the decision of the high court is worthy of interpretation, for which “we are taking the legal route so that the Constitution and the law can be interpreted necessarily.” Therefore, the governor maintained that he did not give a date for the elections to the Punjab Assembly. Moreover, the governor said that the chief secretary and IGP had given a detailed briefing to the election commission on the financial and security issues of Punjab at the Election Commission Secretariat in Islamabad on February 8, 2023, so there was no need for a briefing again in today’s consultative meeting.