FCC stays Quetta LG elections over delimitation issue
Pakistan
The petitioner, Abdul Qadir, was represented in court by senior lawyer Kamran Murtaza.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has issued a stay order on the local government elections in Quetta.
The case was heard by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, which also included Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi.
The petitioner, Abdul Qadir, was represented in court by senior lawyer Kamran Murtaza.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that local government constituencies in Quetta were drawn on the basis of the 2017 census, despite the 2023 census having been officially notified.
The lawyer told the court that under the law, local government elections must be held on the basis of new delimitations conducted according to the latest census. After hearing the arguments, the court issued a stay order on the elections and issued notices to all parties.
Postponement triggers political reactions
Following the court’s order, the local government elections were postponed, triggering mixed reactions from lawyers and political leaders.
Advocate Rahib Baloch said that the Supreme Court (SC) had postponed the local government elections and that the next hearing in the case would be held on January 21. He stated that local government elections are a constitutional right of the people and that postponing them amounts to a violation of the Constitution.
A National Party leader termed the government’s request to delay the elections incomprehensible, saying the government was avoiding the democratic process.
National Party leader Aslam Baloch said that local government elections would be held at all costs. He added that using cold weather and law and order as excuses to postpone elections was equivalent to depriving the public of their rights.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Balochistan provincial president Dawood Shah Kakar said the government was deliberately evading local government elections because the ruling parties would face defeat if the polls were held.
On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Younas Baloch maintained that voter registration was not accurate in all wards and that the Election Commission’s preparations were incomplete. He said that holding elections under such circumstances could have created multiple complications, but the postponement had now given the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) time to address its shortcomings.
