The Supreme Court (SC) has approved the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) appeal over the Punjab election tribunals, overturning an earlier ruling by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on the issue.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa headed a five-member panel that rendered the decision.
The case’s hearings were concluded by the highest court, which withheld its decision until today.
The decision confirming the permission of the Election Commission’s appeal challenging the ruling was read publicly by the chief justice.
The court’s verdict was unanimous, with a 5-0 majority and no dissent from the justices.
CJP Isa further stated that Justices Jamal Mandokhail and Aqeel Abbasi had made an additional note on the ruling.
This judgment followed the LHC’s June 12 rejection of the electoral watchdog’s proposal to appoint four extra judges to Punjab election tribunals.
In reaction, the ECP sought relief from the Supreme Court.
Last week, the Supreme Court delayed its verdict on the ECP’s appeal against the LHC’s order to create eight electoral tribunals in Punjab after being informed that the problem had been addressed.
The court dismissed bench concerns and expressed optimism that electoral tribunal establishment would shortly begin. Qazi Faez Isa, Chief Justice, stated that swift decisions must be taken on the election issues.
Section 140 of the Elections Act, 2017 gave the LHC chief justice the prerogative to appoint electoral tribunals in accordance with Article 219(c) read with Article 222(b) of the Constitution.
