ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah on Saturday said that the top court's verdict in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) electoral symbol case was apparently misinterpreted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), as that did not seek to prohibit the political party from participating in the elections.
“Prima facie, the interpretation was erroneous and the judgment could not be construed to have the effect of disqualifying a major political party from the general elections,” the Supreme Court judge wrote in an additional note in the reserved seats case being heard by a full bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.
Led by the CJP, the full court comprises Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Malik, Justice Minallah, Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.
In the notice, Justice Minallah said the ECP decision denied voters their fundamental rights and misinterpreted the Supreme Court ruling.
Survey Integrity
“The arguments presented today by counsel on behalf of the ECP have raised profound questions of public importance…” the lawyer said, adding that these questions were rooted in the legitimacy of the electoral process.
According to Justice Minallah, the ECP's counsel has unequivocally argued that one of the major political parties listed was allegedly disqualified from the competitive electoral process based on the electoral body's interpretation of the apex court judgment.
“The exclusion of a major political party from the general elections by the Commission, on the basis of its erroneous interpretation of this Court's ruling, definitely results in the disenfranchisement of voters and, therefore, the deprivation of reserved seats.”
He further writes that the legitimacy of governance, future policies, legislation and public trust in representative institutions depends exclusively on the integrity of the electoral process and electoral institutions.
'The buck stops with ECP'
“The onus is on the Commission. The onus is on the Commission to convince this Court that a major political party was justifiably excluded from the political and electoral process and that the conditions were not created to deprive it of its legitimate right to claim its share of the reserved seats.”
“The failure of the Commission to discharge this responsibility would definitely raise serious questions about the fulfillment of the constitutional duty of conducting elections in accordance with the mandate of the Constitution,” the Supreme Court judge wrote in the note.
He added that there are pending petitions before the Supreme Court that raise questions about the integrity of the electoral process during the general elections and the alleged violations of the fundamental rights of voters and political workers.
Elephant in the room
“This court cannot turn a blind eye and ignore the serious allegations about the integrity of the electoral process, as doing so would have profound consequences in relation to the matter at hand.
“This Court cannot and should not be considered to ignore the elephant in the room. “He cannot be perceived as complicit in the alleged failures of the Commission to conduct genuine and credible elections as required by the Constitution,” he said.
During Thursday's hearing, Minallah said the ECP had no authority to prevent any party from participating in the elections.
“The Electoral Commission has no authority to exclude any political party from [taking part in] elections,” Judge Minallah said.
Reserved Seating Saga
The whole reserved seats saga began after PTI-backed independent candidates emerged victorious in the February 8 elections and subsequently joined the SIC in a bid to claim reserved seats for minorities and women.
The measure, however, was not favorable to the party, since the ECP, claiming that it had not presented its list of candidates, denied having allocated the seats reserved for the SIC.
The party then approached the PHC, which confirmed the electoral body's decision on the matter.
The SIC subsequently requested the Supreme Court to set aside the PHC verdict and the allocation of 67 seats for women and 11 for minorities in the assemblies.
On May 6, a three-member SC bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, including Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Minallah, stayed the APS verdict.
He then referred the matter to the committee of judges for formation of a larger court as the matter required constitutional interpretation.
Meanwhile, the ECP had last week submitted its reply to the apex court, saying that the SIC does not qualify for reserved seats as the political party does not allow non-Muslims to be part of it.
The ECP has informed the apex court that the reserved seats cannot be allotted to the SIC as the party did not submit the list of candidates before the January 24 deadline.
The whole issue of reserved seats is of significance as PTI-backed independent candidates, who constitute the majority of opposition seats, lost as many as 77 reserved seats in NA and provincial assemblies due to the PHC verdict.
