The Lahore High Court (LHC) suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification to conduct general elections in Punjab through the executive in a significant development towards polls.
Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the LHC announced the verdict in response to a petition filed by the PTI against the appointment of district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) from the bureaucracy of Punjab for the general polls.
The court issued notices to the caretaker federal and Punjab governments and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) while noting in its five-page order that the poor people had spent billions of rupees on conducting the elections. It emphasized the ECP’s duty to conduct free and fair elections, expressing concern about the possibility of major political parties not accepting the election results and the resulting waste of the nation’s money.
The PTI had filed the petition, challenging the appointment of bureaucrats by the caretaker provincial government in Punjab as returning officers (ROs) for the upcoming general elections.
The court was urged to direct the ECP to initiate a consultation process with LHC’s chief justice for the appointment of judicial officers as DROs and ROs under Sections 50 and 51 of the Elections Act 2017 for the 2024 polls.
In the general elections scheduled for February 8, 2024, deputy commissioners (DCs) of all districts were reportedly being appointed as DROs, while assistant deputy commissioners would be appointed as ROs for the provincial assembly seats. The ECP had issued a notification of the election date on February 8, 2024.
