Supreme Court Hears ECP's Challenge to High Court Ruling on Election Tribunal Appointments

Islamabad 22-06-2024: In a significant development, the Supreme Court of Pakistan is currently hearing two civil petitions [CP No. 2522 and 2523 of 2024] filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against judgments passed by the Lahore High Court.

The crux of the matter is the authority to appoint Election Tribunals for handling election petitions. The Lahore High Court had previously ruled that the appointment of these Tribunals should be made by the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, and not the ECP.

However, the ECP has now challenged this interpretation, arguing that it is not in line with the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Elections Act 2017. The ECP contends that Articles 219(c), 222(d), and 225 of the Constitution, as well as Sections 140(1), 140(3), and 151 of the Elections Act, clearly empower the ECP to appoint the Election Tribunals.

The ECP has further submitted that the High Court's reliance on previous Supreme Court judgments, such as Al-Jehad Trust and Riaz-ul-Haq, was misplaced, as those cases dealt with different issues related to the appointment of judges and administrative tribunals.

The Supreme Court is now tasked with interpreting the constitutional and legal framework to determine the rightful authority for appointing the Election Tribunals. The outcome of this case is likely to have significant implications for the conduct of future elections in Pakistan.

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