Pakistan: Lahore High Court halts bureaucrat deployment for 2024 elections
Dec 14, 2023
Lahore [Pakistan], December 14 : The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) notification to hold general elections in Pakistan's Punjab province through the executive branch, marking a significant move ahead of polls, ARY News reported.
The PTI filed a case challenging the recruitment of district returning officers (DROs) and returning officers (ROs) from the Punjabi bureaucracy for the general elections.
LHC Judge Ali Baqar Najafi rendered a decision on the matter.
Judge Ali Baqar Najafi sent notifications to the caretaker federal and Punjab province's governments, as well as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), at the same time that he announced the reserved ruling, according to ARY News.
The LHC mentioned in its five-page ruling that the underprivileged had invested billions of rupees in organising the elections. "If the major political parties did not accept the election results, the nation's money would be wasted," it added, as per ARY News.
It further emphasised that holding free and fair elections was the responsibility of the ECP.
It further emphasised that holding free and fair elections was the responsibility of the ECP. It is important to note that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) filed a lawsuit in the Lahore High Court against the caretaker provincial government in Punjab for appointing bureaucrats to serve as returning officers (ROs) for the upcoming general elections, ARY News reported.
It was urged by the court that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) be instructed to speak with the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court regarding the appointment of judicial officers as DROs and ROs for the 2024 elections, in accordance with Sections 50 and 51 of the Elections Act of 2017.
Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) had announced that general elections would be held next year.
In accordance with Section 57 of the Election Act, the Election Commission announced the general election date. The notice stated that the general elections would be held on February 8, 2024, in accordance with the Supreme Court's ruling.
