Following a firm order by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Election Commission of Pakistan has finally issued the schedule for the February 8 elections. The eleventh-hour decision put to rest the rumours about a further delay in the general elections.

For months, the polls had been delayed over one pretext or the other. On November 3, an SC bench, headed by the chief justice of Pakistan, had ruled that the people would exercise their right of franchise in the second month of 2024. “This date is set in stone. It will not be changed,” he had remarked.

However, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s decision to challenge the appointment of returning officers before the Lahore High Court put the elections in jeopardy once again. In its petition, the PTI contested the appointments of civil servants to act as returning officer and deputy returning officers. It sought the appointment of officers from the lower judiciary.

On December 15, the LHC stayed the appointment of returning officers. The ECP challenged the high court order before the SC, requesting an urgent hearing of the case as the poll schedule had to be issued 54 days before the polling day. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Sardar Tariq Masood heard the ECP request........

© The News on Sunday