Challenges SC election verdict
The Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court to review its directives to hold elections for the Punjab Assembly on May 14, urging it not to intervene in its matters.
“The Supreme Court should review its decision of April 4. The judiciary does not have the power to give the date for elections. The makers of the Constitution did not give the right to the judiciary to give the date for elections,” the petition said.
“The Supreme Court altered the law by giving the date for elections in Punjab. The Supreme Court should correct the mistake. The Constitution of Pakistan has clearly defined the powers of the institutions,” it added.
“Conducting free and fair elections is the constitutional responsibility of the ECP. It is respectfully requested that the Supreme Court has negated its own rules by giving the election date,” it stated.
“The ECP has the power to change the programme for elections. The Judiciary has the power to only interpret the Constitution. It has no right to rewrite the Constitution,” it stressed.
“Neither the Constitution nor the law empowered the Supreme Court to fix the election date. A strong election commission is necessary for a strong democracy in the country. It is impossible to hold free and fair elections without a strong election commission,” it pointed out.
