ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: The Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission on Thursday to postpone the Feb 20 by-elections for five National Assembly and one provincial assembly seats –— four in Punjab and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — until new and verified voter lists are complete. A bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had taken up a constitutional petition moved by Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan against the alleged faulty electoral lists.

The seats fell vacant after Shah Mehmood Qureshi quit the NA-148 Multan seat and Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali NA-140 Kasur and left the PPP, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi vacated the NA-149 Multan seat and left the PML-N, Jahangir Tareen quit the NA-195 Rahimyar Khan seat and left the PML-F and Nawabzada Mohammad Khan Hoti left NA-9 Mardan seat and the ANP to join the PTI.

The Supreme Court ordered the commission to hold by-elections only with verified lists and to give preference to preparing error-free electoral rolls for constituencies where the elections were going to be held.

The court, however, adjourned the proceedings to Feb 6, till the time a constitutional bill is introduced in parliament to provide a constitutional cover to elections of a number of parliamentarians and provincial assembly members held in the absence of a properly constituted election commission and avert a crisis.