Delimitation of constituencies: SC accepts PTI’s plea

Delimitation of constituencies: SC accepts PTI’s plea. The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Wednesday accepted the plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to file a petition against the new delimitation of constituencies.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan remarked that the petition was about these constituencies, which have been notified. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also issued the notification of new constituencies, he also said.

PTI’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhary said they will file a petition again against the new constituencies, adding that the party will also challenge the ECP notification issued on August 3.

Read more: ECP publishes list of delimited constituencies for next general elections

The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of the case indefinitely.

The PTI’s counsel adopted the view that the population ratio has not changed since 2017.

On Tuesday, after two days of the in-chamber hearing, the judge allowed the appeal after two days of the hearing. The case will be fixed for hearing in the court.

It is learnt that the PTI will move application regarding early fixation of this petition before eid.

The PTI had earlier this month moved the top court seeking a declaration that the delimitation schedule announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on April 11 was “illegal’ and ‘unconstitutional”.

The petition also requested the SC to order the election supervisor and secretary to ensure the upcoming electoral process is in accordance with law and the Constitution and is carried out without wasting any time or creating a delay.

The application contended that the endeavour by the ECP to carry out new delimitation of provincial and national constituencies across the country and the subsequent schedule it issued amounted to a departure from Article 51(5).

As the delimitation exercise conducted in 2018 under the command of the Constitution has to be considered final till the new census takes place, therefore, the ECP is bound to hold elections on the basis of the delimitation conducted previously, the petition said.