Elections 2024: CEC Raja and CJP Isa deliberate consequences of LHC’s recent ruling

ISLAMABAD:  Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja on Friday met with Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa to deliberate on the potential consequences of the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) recent ruling.

Sources said that during the meeting, attended by Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Tariq Masood, CEC Raja briefed the apex court judges about the LHC’s decision to suspend the Election Commission’s (ECP) notification urging the withdrawal of returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy for the scheduled general elections on February 8, 2024.

Sources indicated that CEC Raja updated the chief justice on the Election Commission’s preparations for the upcoming polls on the mentioned date.

Experts are speculating that the general elections could face a delay following the LHC order, which halted the ECP’s notification concerning the appointment of ROs and DROs from the bureaucratic sector.

The verdict was delivered in response to a petition filed by the PTI against the appointment of these officers in Punjab for the upcoming general polls.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, in the LHC’s five-page order, highlighted that a substantial amount of money had been spent by the public for the electoral process and expressed concerns about the potential waste of national funds if major political parties contested the election results.

In the aftermath of the LHC ruling, the Election Commission suspended a three-day training session for ROs, and there is growing apprehension among political parties as the court decision appears to have halted the electoral process just weeks before the scheduled general elections on February 8, 2024.

The Election Commission of Pakistan had initially notified the polls for February 8, 2024, under Section 57 of the Election Act, citing compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive.