The Peshawar High Court has issued notices to the Election Commission and other respondents in a petition challenging the postponement of elections for a vacant Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and sought replies by the next hearing.
The petition was filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Irfan Saleem. A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad and Justice Farah Jamshed heard the case. During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel, Ali Gohar Durrani, Advocate informed the court that after an Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced Murad Saeed, the Election Commission had declared his Senate seat vacant.
According to the lawyer, the Election Commission issued the election schedule for the vacant KP Senate seat on April 23, after which petitioner Irfan Saleem submitted his nomination papers and became a candidate for the seat. The court was told that later a member of the Provincial Assembly filed a petition with the Election Commission, arguing that since Murad Saeed had not taken the oath as Senator, the seat could not be declared vacant.
The counsel stated that based on that petition, the Election Commission postponed the Senate election on April 21, and subsequently issued a notification on August 27. The petitioner is directly affected by the ECP’s decision and notification. The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the Election Commission had misinterpreted Articles 63, 64, 65 and 255(3) of the Constitution. He further told the court that under Article 224(5) of the Constitution, a vacant Senate seat must be filled within 30 days.
He added that under Article 65, an elected member cannot sit in the Senate or vote until he has taken the oath. The petitioner requested the court to declare the Election Commission’s decision to postpone the Senate election and the subsequent notification null and void.
After the initial hearing, the court issued notices to the Election Commission and other parties and sought replies by the next date of hearing.
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