Is it possible to hold general elections on February 8, 2024?

The Lahore High Court on Wednesday suspended the Election Commission’s notification through which returning officers were appointed from the bureaucracy.

This new constitutional crisis has created the possibility of delaying the February 8 general elections.

When contacted, former secretary of Election Commission of Pakistan and legal adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Kunwar Dilshad said that due to the decision of Lahore High Court, the general elections on February 8 may be delayed.

He said that the delay may be for a few days because the larger bench of the Lahore High Court will soon hear and decide on the issue of suspension of the notification of the Election Commission for the appointment of returning officers and deputy returning officers.

Punjab government’s adviser on law and election affairs expert said that in the light of Lahore High Court’s decision, the Election Commission issued on December 11 with the suspension of the notification of the appointment of Returning Officers and Deputy Returning Officers. Training has also been suspended.

Kanwar Dilshad said that according to the original plan, the Election Commission had to issue the election schedule on December 15 or 16 so that the general elections could be held on February 8, 2024. But now it will happen when the larger bench of Lahore High Court will decide the issue of appointment of ROs and Deputy ROs.

However, Kanwar Dilshad expressed hope that the election will be delayed only for a few days because according to the election law, the election can be scheduled for at least 54 days. He said that due to the decision of the Lahore High Court, the election schedule will be affected.

It may be recalled that the Lahore High Court on Wednesday suspended the notification of appointment of returning officers and deputy returning officers from the bureaucracy issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Delivering a safe verdict on the petition, Justice Ali Baqir Najafi sent the matter to the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court for hearing the case through a larger bench.

Petitioner Umair Niazi pleaded before the court that the Election Commission contacted the government instead of the judiciary for returning officers. A transparent and impartial election is not expected from the caretaker government.

He requested the court to declare the Election Commission’s notification null and void. During the hearing, the lawyer of the Election Commission requested the court to reject the application as inadmissible.

The Lahore High Court has said in its decision that looking at the facts on the ground, the absence of equal opportunities for Tehreek-e-Insaaf to participate in the election is visible to all and many independent groups have taken serious notice of this.

A major question mark would be the jailing of top political leadership or the undergrounding of election campaigns by their political party.

The petitioner’s apprehension of avoiding fair and free elections by the Election Commission of Pakistan appears to be correct. Because some District Returning Officers, Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers have been appointed from among the currently appointed members of the administration across the country which is not trusted by the petitioner’s political party Tehreek-e-Insaaf.