ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has been asked to declare that the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, has no bearing or effect on the binding nature of the SC eight judges’ short order dated 12 July 2024 and its implementation cannot be refused based on the said statute.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) through Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Saturday again approached the SC’s eight judges, who have passed an order that “PTI was and is a political party, which secured or won (the two terms being interchangeable) general seats in the National and Provincial Assemblies in the General Elections of 2024”.
Gohar submitted that the letters of the Speaker National Assembly and the Speaker Punjab Assembly do not set out the correct constitutional and legal position, have no legal effect on the 12th July short order and are liable to be ignored by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The ECP is bound to implement the short order, as made it clear through eight judges Clarification Order dated 14 September 2024, in letter and spirit, he added.
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The PTI chairman said that the NA Speaker has communicated the Commission that after the Elections (Second Amendment) Act, 2024, the eight judges’ short order “is now incapable of implementation”. He contended that the letters of NA and Punjab Speakers are nothing but an attempt to obstruct implementation of the short order dated July 12, 2024.
He requested that contempt of court proceeding be initiated against the relevant personnel, especially the Chief Election Commissioner and Members of the ECP.
Gohar stated that the short order also held that PTI was “entitled to reserved seats for women and minorities in the National Assembly” on the basis of the 39 MNAs recognised as PTI returned MNAs in paragraph 7 of the short order and such of the 41 returned MNAs (identified in paragraph 8 of the short order) who issue statements of affiliation with PTI, which statements PTI certifies to be correct.
He stated that on 14 September 2024, the eight judges passed the clarification order which held that the certifications issued by PTI “were correct and valid in terms of the short order and the continued denial and refusal of the Commission to accept the same, as and when filed, is constitutionally and legally incorrect and may expose the Commission to such further or other action as may be warranted in terms of the Constitution and the law.”
The PTI chairman said that in light of the short order and the clarification order, the matter of affiliation of the 80 returned MNAs identified in paragraph 6 of the short order now stands finally determined. The position having crystallised on the Constitutional plane cannot be modified by ordinary legislation such as the Amendment Act.
He maintained that the Amendment Act imposes no hurdles in the “implementation” of the short order; the latter will prevail over the former.
He submitted that considering ECP’s prejudice towards the PTI, they fear that the ECP will use the Speakers’ letters to wrongly refuse implementation of the short order and will instead declare PTI’s returned candidates as independents and will allocate reserved seats to other political parties on such basis.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024