The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday has suspended the notification issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold the general elections in Punjab, through the executive branch. This move is considered as a significant move ahead of polls.
The PTI has filed a case challenging the recruitment of the district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) from the bureaucracy of Punjab for the general elections.
Meanwhile, Judge Ali Baqar Najafi sent notification to the caretaker federal and Punjab province’s governments, as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), at the same that he announced the reserved ruling.
Along with this, the LHC in its five page ruling mentioned that, “the underprivileged had invested billions of rupees in organizing the elections. If the major political parties did not accept the election results, the nation’s money would be wasted.”
It has further highlighted that holding the free and fair elections was the key responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan.
It emphasized that, “Holding the free and fair election was the responsibility of the ECP. It is important to note that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) filed a lawsuit in the Lahore High Court against the caretaker provincial government in Punjab for appointing bureaucrats to serve as the returning officers (ROs) for the upcoming general elections.”
It is to be hereby specifically mentioned that, the court has further urged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to be instructed to speak with the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court regarding the appointment of judicial officers as DROs and ROs for the 2024 elections, in accordance with Sections 50 and 51 of the Elections Act of 2017.
At the same time, the Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) had made an announcement that general elections would be held next year.
