Lahore High Court (LHC) Multan Bench on Thursday issued a stay order regarding June 9 local body elections (first phase) in Punjab and sought reply from Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Secretary local government within a week in response to three separate petitions challenging the elections on the grounds that ECP announced LB elections without notifying rules under Local Government Ordinance 2021.
Mr. Justice Muhammad Shan Gul ordered in the judgment that arguments raised by the counsel for petitioners needed consideration and admitted the petition for hearing besides issuing notices to respondents with a direction to relist the case on Apr 28, 2022.
Petitions were filed by petitioners Muhammad Aslam Kamboh r/o Khanewal, Dilawar Khan r/o Vehari and Ghulam Abbas r/o Sahiwal through counsel advocate Rana Asif Saeed.
The counsel contended in the petition that elections had to be held under local government ordinance which has not yet been made an Act of parliament. He also challenged the extension in the ordinance. Under the Ordinance, voting had to be held through machines but no such system was in place, the counsel for petitioners argued.
The judge said in the order that counsel for petitioner argued that elections had to be held under the local government ordinance 2021, however, section 213 required the provincial government to notify rules for the purpose of conduct of local government elections.
