Dawood Ahmed:
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ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order unconstitutional and directed the government to hold elections on May 14 in the Punjab province.
The much-awaited judgment was announced by the apex court on Tuesday afternoon, the entire nation was waiting for it.
“The impugned order dated 22.03.2023 made by the Election Commission of Pakistan is declared to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction, void ab-initio, of no legal effect, and is hereby quashed,” the ruling said. “Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the Commission to extend the date of elections beyond the 90 days period as provided in Article 224(2) of the Constitution.”
The ECP had declared October 8 as a new date for polls
The ECP had on March 22 announced that the elections in Punjab would be held on October 8. The date was earlier set on April 30, in consultation with the president.
The reserved verdict was issued today by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan.
