Punjab Local Government Act 2019 was not only contrary to the Election Act 2017 but also a self-contradictory in nature and the local government polls were not possible under the impugned law.

This was told by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to Lahore High Court during hearing of dozens of petitions before a full bench.

The bench sought personal appearance of provincial secretaries for law and local government on next hearing and also directed the petitioners' counsel to file their rejoinders. The bench also dismissed an identical petition of former federal minister Danyal Aziz for non prosecution.

The petitioners include Lahore's former lord mayor Col Mubashir Javed retired, nine deputy mayors of Lahore, former chairman district council of Narowal Ahmad Iqbal, son of former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal.

Senior lawyers Khalid Ranjha, Ahsan Bhoon, Azam Nazir Tarar, Mobeenuddin Qazi, Usama Khawar Ghumman, and others represented the petitioners. Advocate General Punjab Ahmad Jamal Sukhera represented the provincial government and questioned the maintainability of the petitions. The petitioners mainly contended that the PLGA-2019 had been passed in hasty and arbitrary manner.

They said after the promulgation of new law, the previous local government institutions were abolished before the expiry of their five-year constitutional term.

They asked the court to declare that all elected to office under the 2013 law were entitled to complete their term and suspend operation of the PLGA-2019 till completion of their tenure.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019