PESHAWAR:The Peshawar High Court (PHC) here Tuesday declared holding of village and neighborhood councils election under the Local Government (amendment) Act 2019 on non-party basis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was unconstitutional.
A larger bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) headed by Justice Rohul Amin Khan, Justice Ejaz Anwar Khan and Justice Arshad Ali partially allowed the writ petitions filed by Akram Khan Durrani, Mushtaq Ahmed Khan and Himayatullah Mayar who had challenged holding of village and neigbourhood councils election on non party basis under KP Local Government Act 2019 and prayed the court to declare it illegal and unconstitutional.
The court ordered ECP for holding of village and neigbourhood councils election on party basis in Khyber Pakthunkhwa. The bench also directed KP Government and Election Commission of Pakistan to issue necessary direction to the returning officers to accept nomination papers from aspirants candidates for village and neighborhood councils on party basis with effect from November 4 as per schedule notified through a notification on October 25 by ECP.
“For reasons to be recorded later, all these petitions are partially allowed, section 27 (2) of the KP LG Act, 2013 substituted vide KP LG (Amendment) Act No. XXV of 2019 only to the extent of envisaging for holding election for village council and neighborhood council, as the case may be, on non-party basis are struck down being ultra vires of article 17 of the constitution of Pakistan 1973,” the court ruled.
The bench further ruled that Part 11th schedule to KP LG Act 2013 inserted through KP Act No XXV of 2019 to the extent of envisaging for election on non-party basis was also held ultra vires of Article 17 of the Constitution and as a consequence thereof, the ongoing election schedule by ECP through a notification issued on October 25, 2021 for election of village council and neigbourhood council should be held on party basis.
The court clarified that election for tehsil/city councils, villages/neighborhood councisl to the seat of Mayor or Chairman and members of villages/neigbourhood councils of districts Malakand, Bajaur, Mardan, Swabi, Peshawar, Nowshera, Kohat, Karak, D I Khan, Bannu, Tank, Haripur, Khyber, Mohmand, Charsadda,, Hangu and Lakki Marwat should be held as per schedule issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan through a notification on October 25 to be implemented in letter and spirit.