Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing of Petition for Simultaneous Elections in Pakistan

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has adjourned the hearing of a petition seeking to hold general elections to all national and provincial assemblies simultaneously until April 27, 2023. The decision was taken after the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) scheduled a meeting for April 26 to develop a consensus on elections in the country. The directives were issued by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar. During today's hearing, the coalition parties told the court that a dialogue with the opposition was planned after Eid, but Justice Bandial instructed the government to hold talks on the same day.

Background

Pakistan is due to hold general elections in May 2023, and the petition seeks to hold general elections to all national and provincial assemblies simultaneously. The Supreme Court had earlier fixed May 14 as the date for elections to the Punjab Assembly. The court has been pushing for a consensus on the election date, and all political parties have affirmed their fidelity to the Constitution, which is supreme and must be adhered to.

Court’s Decision and Order

The court was impressed with the positive statements made by political leaders representing all major political parties with respect to the simultaneous holding of general elections of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies. The court acknowledged that political dialogue could be a lengthy process and the correct forum for that is the political arena and political institutions. The court did not find any reservations to the negotiations being centred solely on a one-point agenda, namely, consensual fixation of a date for holding of general elections of the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies.

It is important that such a result is reached "expeditiously" as the court had already fixed May 14 as the date for polls in Punjab. The Supreme Court has said that the judgement "holds the field" and its ruling was, therefore, binding on all judicial and executive authorities in the country under Article 189 and Article 190 of the Constitution.

The proposal for holding the first meeting of all political parties was "appreciated and welcomed by the court". The Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) was directed to report the progress of talks between the political parties in chambers. The hearing was adjourned till 4 pm, and the court was to be informed of the progress when the hearing resumed on April 27.

Reaction of the Opposition

Immediately after the Supreme Court's deadline for negotiations ended, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, also the chairman of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), strongly rejected the idea of talks with PTI chairman Imran Khan. He said that a man who dissolved the assemblies and brought Pakistan to this point was being brought into the limelight by the top court. Fazlur Rehman urged the apex court to be accommodating, adding that "if you can be accommodating for Imran, you can do the same for us".

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, on the other hand, stressed the importance of dialogue among political parties. At the same time, he also highlighted the factors that could hamper this process, saying that it would be difficult to reach a consensus within the coalition on two points.