report in Daily Times, Dec 30. 2023 IHC calls on caretakers to maintain neutralityOn Friday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) permitted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and lawyers to hold election meetings with party founder Imran Khan in Adiala jail in the run-up to polls scheduled for February 8. Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb passed the order on a petition by Imran seeking permission for meetings with party leaders to formulate a strategy for the polls. The…
Posts tagged as “polls”
by Amna Ali in The Express Tribune, Dec 30, 2023ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday decided to challenge the decision of the Peshawar High Court, which suspended the declaration of PTI’s internal polls as “unconstitutional” and the revocation of the party’s ‘cricket bat’ electoral symbol. Sources indicate that the ECP plans to file an intra-court appeal in the PHC challenging the decision of its single-judge bench. In the event of no relief,…
By Rafiq Mangat in The News, December 28, 2023ISLAMABAD: An election will be held in early 2024, at which the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) expects a victory for the coalition, led by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN), under former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, “with help from the military, despite widespread discontent with the government’s austerity measures”. The EIU says in its assessment the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party will lose. “Domestic protests will intensify,…
Report in The Nation, December 20, 2023ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) yesterday ordered the removal of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Establishment Ahad Cheema from his post, apparently to ensure free and fair elections. The ECP issued the directives, hearing a petition seeking the removal of Cheema, Privatisation and Inter-provincial Coordination Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Tauqeer Hussain Shah from their posts. The petition…
report in The News, December 20, 2023PESHAWAR: PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Tuesday said the higher judiciary should play its role in holding fair, free and transparent general elections to provide a capable leadership to the country. “We have petitioned the Peshawar and Lahore high courts to hold elections under the supervision of the judiciary, as we believe deputy commissioners and local administrations are not impartial,” he said while talking to reporters on…
by Zulqernain Tahir in Dawn, Dec 16th, 2023LAHORE: Buoyed by the Supreme Court’s decision, followed by the announcement of the general elections schedule, most political parties on Friday unanimously proclaimed that a “major conspiracy to delay the polls” has failed. PTI, however, refused to join the celebrations, with party leaders continuing to question the biases of bureaucrats to be appointed as poll officers. In a post on X, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif wrote: “The SC’s…
By Ansar Abbasi in The News,Dec 15, 2023ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) order on Wednesday to suspend the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) notification to requisition returning officers from bureaucracy is likely to delay the Feb 8 general elections. ECP former secretary and presently caretaker Punjab CM’s Adviser on Law Kanwar Dilshad, when approached, told The News that Feb 8 elections are likely to be delayed because of the LHC judgment. Dilshad said a…
Report in Dawn, Dec 15th, 2023ISLAMABAD: The PML-N and MQM-P on Thursday questioned the PTI’s intentions in contesting the appointment of civil servants as election supervisors, saying that the former ruling party seemed to have no issue with a similar arrangement in the 2018 polls. In a statement, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif accused the PTI of hatching a conspiracy to delay polls. He said the PTI went to court with the intention to delay polls…
report in The Nation, Dec 15, 2023 iISLAMABAD/LAHORE – …….. However, the ECP rejected the allegations of any planning to delay the upcoming polls, claiming that it has completed all necessary arrangements to conduct the polls. In reaction to the PTI blames about delaying the polls, the Commission rejected these claims. “These are unfounded and baseless claims which are aimed at misguiding the people,” said the election regulatory body in a statement issued here. The…
by Selim Zahid in Prothom Alo, Dec 12, 2023Although around 450 candidates of seven registered Islamic parties or the same type of political parties are contesting in the elections to be held on 7 January, none of these candidates has the possibility to win the elections without backing from the government or concessions from the ruling Awami League, the people concerned have said. The parties have affinity with the government and their target to join…
report in The Express Tribune, Dec 12, 2023Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has highlighted that it will make no difference if the general elections are delayed by eight to 10 days, saying that factors such as adverse weather conditions or security situation in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) may impact the schedule of polls. In an interview with a private news channel, Zardari emphasised that the elections were…