ISLAMABAD: Days after promulgation of a controversial Ordinance empowering Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to appoint retired judges as election tribunals, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan held a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja here on Friday.

The meeting took place two days after the Lahore High Court ordered the ECP to notify six more election tribunals (ETs) for Punjab province in light of the nominations sent by the LHC chief justice.

Justice Shahid Karim had passed the order allowing two identical petitions filed by PTI-backed independent candidates Advocate Salman Akram Raja and Rao Omar Hashim Khan, who had lost their general election from NA-128, Lahore, and NA-139, Pakpattan, respectively.

In a 26-page judgement, the judge ruled that the ECP is under obligation to appoint as election tribunals all six judges of the LHC as nominated by the chief justice unless he withdraws any name or seeks to substitute it.

Law minister, AGP meet chief election commissioner; notices issued to 40 parties for not submitting expense details

Informed sources told Dawn that the recent developments related to appointment of election tribunals came under discussion during the meeting.

The sources said some issues of the ECP pending with the parliamentary affairs ministry and allocation of budget to the ECP also came under discussion during the meeting.

A senior ECP official when contacted said that the ordinance amending the Elections Act was a law now and the LHC’s order was, therefore, meaningless, and it will soon be challenged in the Supreme Court.

He said that under Section 140 of the Elections Act in its original form, only sitting judges were to be appointed as tribunals, in consultation with the chief justices of the respective high courts.

But now, he said, the ECP had been empowered to appoint serving as well as retired judges of the high courts without consulting the chief justices.

Answering a question, he said that under Section 151 of the Act, the ECP at any stage, on its own motion or on an application of a party and for reasons to be recorded, transfer an election petition from one election tribunal to another election tribunal.

He replied in affirmative when asked if the ECP enjoyed powers to transfer a case from a tribunal comprising a serving judge to that of a retired judge now.

Meanwhile, the ECP has summoned representatives of as many as 40 political parties for non-submission of details of poll campaign expenses.

According to a cause list issued by the Election Commission, notices have been issued to political parties for non-compliance of the legal requirement, requiring them to appear before the ECP on June 5.

The parties issued notices include Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Awami National Party, Balochistan National Party, Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen and PPP-(Shaheed Bhutto).

As per Section 211 of the Elections Act, 2017, a political party is to furnish to the ECP the list of contributors who have donated or contributed an amount equal to or more than one million rupees to the political party for its election campaign expenses.

The political parties under the law are also to furnish to the Commission details of the election expenses incurred by it during the general election, bye-election and Senate election.

The Election Commission has now fixed June 6 for hearing of the matter relating to the intra-party elections of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf under the title: “Non-conduct of intra-party election of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.”

Notices have been issued to the party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Federal Chief Election Commissioner Raoof Hasan.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2024