Imran Khan’s PTI seeks remedy against yesterday’s LHC ruling mandating today’s recount.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The appeal filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruling to conduct a recount for the Punjab Chief Minister’s election has been appointed for hearing today at 1:30 pm before a three-member special bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Besides Justice Umra Ata Bandial, the bench includes Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail.
As Imran Khan’s PTI sought, the High Court has nullified the election for Punjab CM, but laid down a tight timeframe for the exercise to be taken up afresh.
Earlier, losing all hope of downing Hamza Shahbaz if the exercise takes place today, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has appealed the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) to quash the Lahore High Court (LHC) ruling requiring a recount.
The PTI seeks an immediate hearing of the plea, seeking the LHC verdict declared illegal and unconstitutional. It prays that the court suspend the process of recounting until a decision on this plea.
The LHC Thursday ordered recount of Chief Minister Punjab election held on April 16 after excluding votes of 25 de-seated lawmakers of PTI. The problem, however, is that the court laid down a tight timeframe for the exercise.
Khan has been informed that five members of his party have gone to perform Hajj while six others are abroad on other business. His advisors told him there were many constitutional and legal ambiguities in the LHC decision.
LHC, in its verdict stated that the decision by Supreme Court of not counting votes of defecting members of a political party is squarely applicable to the election of Chief Minister held on April 14, 2022.
“It is an undeniable fact that 25 members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had voted for Mr. Muhammad Hamza Shahbaz, whereas the party had nominated Mr. Pervaiz Elahi as its candidate.”
The court also directed the Presiding Officer (Deputy Speaker) of the election held on April 16, 2022 to recount votes after excluding 25 votes of the defecting members.
Under Article 130(4), if the required majority is not secured by any candidate after vote count, a second and if required third poll will be taken until a candidate is elected by a majority of the members present.
The court ordered the session, as originally called by the then Governor, to resume for this “recount”, and to not be prorogued until “the election process is completed and Presiding officer intimates the result of elected Chief Minister to the Governor under the Rule 21”.
The Governor has on his part been ordered to administer the oath of office to the Chief Minister elect without at any time before 11:00 am the next day.
The court said that it could not ignore the disorder in various sessions of the Provincial Assembly and warned that “any attempt of disorder from any quarter shall be taken as contempt of court and shall be proceeded accordingly by this Larger Bench on formal information by any person”.
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