ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to submit details of re-poll in Tehsil Sarai Naurang.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard the case.
The ECP had ordered re-polling at six polling stations in Lakki Marwat’s Sarai Naurang where women were barred from casting votes during the first phase of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) local body elections last month.
During the course of proceedings, Chief Justice Bandial said that constitutional and legal institutions should be independent and sovereign.
Advocate Kamran Murtaza’s counsel Latif Khosa said that a re-poll was ordered in Sarai Naurang after the situation deteriorated during the election of the chairperson.
He said that no votes were cast at only one polling station in the tehsil and voting at others was held as per schedule.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked about the incident of firing outside the women’s polling station which resulted in one person being killed.
He said that according to the returning officer’s report the ECP had ordered for a re-poll owing to the deteriorating law-and-order situation.
He said that women did not go out to cast their votes out of fear.
Advocate Latif Khosa maintained that he believed in the sovereignty of the ECP as he was not affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). However, the commission should have submitted a fair report, he added.
Chief Justice Bandial said that there were a total of 108 polling stations in the constituency and the JUI had won.
He said that constitutional and legal institutions should be independent and sovereign.
The ECP’s director-general law pleaded the court for additional time to submit their reply.
Kamran Murtaza said that the ECP had ordered a re-poll on February 13 and requested the court to make a decision on the case before that date.
Later, hearing of the case was adjourned until February 8.