The PPP and PML-N on Friday accused the PTI of delaying general elections scheduled for Feb 8, a day after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) paused a three-day training session for returning officers and district returning officers.
The electoral body’s move came in response to a Lahore High Court order suspending the electoral watchdog’s notification regarding the appointment of ROs and DROs from the bureaucracy.
The high court order, which was issued on a petition submitted by the PTI, seemingly brought the electoral process to a standstill, causing widespread concern among political parties — including the petitioner PTI — regarding general elections which are slated for Feb 8 next year.
In its petition in the high court, the PTI had contested the appointments of bureaucrats to act as DROs and ROs for the upcoming general elections and sought the appointment of officials from the lower judiciary for the poll exercise.
The watchdog was expected to announce the election schedule within this week, but now it seems to be in limbo.
An ECP official told Dawn that the announcement of the schedule depended on the final verdict in the case related to the appointment of DROs and ROs.
“The ROs are the ones who issue public notices inviting nominations and also receive and scrutinise nomination papers. An election schedule cannot be issued in the absence of ROs,” he had said. “In fact, it is the job of the ROs to implement the schedule,” the ECP official explained.
The official said the appointment of ROs was made as per the law, as he expressed surprise over the court ruling, which came on late Wednesday night. He had claimed that the judiciary, not the ECP, would be responsible in case elections were delayed.
In a statement issued today, PPP leader and former federal minister Sherry Rehman said rumours of a delay in elections had started doing the rounds after the LHC announced its decision on the PTI petition.
“Due to the order, the ECP suspended its training sessions for ROs and DRO,” she noted, alleging that PTI’s “double standards” had delayed the release of the election schedule. “Who is responsible for this?” Rehman asked.
“The PTI has once again tried to derail the electoral process,” the PPP leader claimed. “This reflects their undemocratic and apolitical mindset. It is clear that the PTI does not want elections to be held in the country.”
Rehman reiterated that the PPP was fully prepared for polls and expressed hope that the judiciary would resolve the matter soon.
PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal also accused the PTI of “conspiring to sabotage election” in the country.
More to follow
