LAHORE: The ‘authority’ of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to give a date for the general elections in the country has been challenged in the supreme court.
A constitutional petition was filed in the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry in this regard by Azhar Siddique advocate, the head of the Judicial Activism Panel. The federal government, the ECP and others have been named parties in the petition.
According to the Constitution, president of Pakistan has the authority to give the date for the elections, the petition maintains. It further said that by amending Section 57 of the Elections Act, the authority to give a date for elections was given to the election commission. The amendment to Section 57 of the Elections Act was inconsistent with articles 48, 58 and 107 of the Constitution, the petition said further.
The petition sought to declare the amendment to the Election Act unconstitutional. On Wednesday, President Dr Arif Alvi wrote a letter to the chief election commissioner, advising him to hold the general elections by November 6. The general elections must be held on the 89th day of the dissolution of the assembly, on November 6, the president said, adding that to fulfil the constitutional obligations, the president had invited the Chief Election Commissioner for consultations on the election date.
Under Article 48(5) of the Constitution, the president has the power to fix a date for general elections within 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly.
