ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has called a ‘consultative meeting’ on Wednesday to discuss the Supreme Court’s verdict on the postponement of the Punjab Assembly polls.
The meeting, to be chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Raja Sultan, comes after the top court declared the ECP’s order to postpone the elections until October 8 “unconstitutional”.
A three-member Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Munib Akhtar, and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, delivered the reserved verdict on Tuesday on a petition filed by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) challenging the ECP’s order to postpone the polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
SC orders Punjab polls on May 14
The Supreme Court directed the government to release Rs21 billion for the Punjab elections by April 10 and ordered the provincial polls to be conducted on May 14.
The apex court also directed the caretaker government in Punjab to assist the commission and warned of an appropriate order in case of non-provision of funds.
In March, the ECP had announced the postponement of the Punjab by-elections, which were scheduled for April 30 and had set October 8 as the new date for the polls.
The commission had withdrawn the Punjab Election Program notification issued on March 8 and had informed President Dr Arif Alvi about the decision.
The ECP spokesperson said that the new election schedule would be released soon.
The consultative meeting on Wednesday is expected to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court’s verdict and the way forward for conducting the Punjab Assembly polls in May.
