The country’s top electoral authority filed on Saturday an intra-court appeal against the Islamabad High Court’s order that required the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold local bodies elections in the federal capital today. Meanwhile, the PTI is seeking contempt proceedings against the electoral watchdog for failure to comply with the IHC’s order to conduct local body polls today (Dec 31).

Following the IHC order, which was announced Friday afternoon, there was a confusion about the polls going ahead as government officials and ECP said that it was impossible to conduct election on such a short notice. The situation became murkier when the ECP failed to file an appeal by midnight. On Saturday morning voters turned up at some of the designated polling station but there was no polling staff.

Finally, the appeal was filed Saturday morning. Jamaat-e-Islami’s Mian Aslam and PTI’s Ali Nawaz Awan have been made parties in the petition filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Polling staff fails to show up

“The teams of Tehreek-e-Insaf Islamabad are present on the ground for the election, but despite the decision of the High Court, the staff of the ECP is absent,” PTI leader Asad Umar said in a Twitter thread.

The former planning minister was of the view that the “system” the government was trying to create might cost them and the nation dearly.

The staff and equipment for the Local Government elections in Islamabad could not reach anywhere in the various union councils of the federal capital.

Voters arrived at polling stations in Syedpur village, Union Council 1, but the staff was absent. Polling was scheduled to start at 8am. However, by that time the director general of law of ECP, along with his legal team, reached the IHC to file a petition against the court’s order.

The LG polls in the federal capital were scheduled to be held on December 31, however, the ECP postponed it due to the government’s decision of increasing the number of union councils in the city.

‘Impossible to hold elections in short period’

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said on Friday the federal government would file an intra-court appeal against IHC order to conduct Islamabad local bodies elections.

“We respect the IHC decision, but holding the elections is not possible as the arrangements cannot be made in such a short period,” he said while talking to a news channel.

The order was issued in the evening after office hours, he said, wondering that how “was it possible” to make the arrangements for the elections.

“As many as 1,000 polling stations needed security and the polling staff was not deployed at the stations. Election material was still not delivered to the polling stations,” he.

Providing security to 1,000 polling stations in such a short period of time was “impossible,” according to the interior minister. The government must have to deploy Rangers and FC for security, he added.

Sanaullah accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of delaying the local bodies polls of Islamabad for more than two years.

PTI and PMLN reaction

“By not implementing IHC orders to hold LG elections in Islamabad today, ECP has again shown it is B team of Imported Govt & its backers,” Imran Khan tweeted.

He also said that the PDM government is running away from elections.

Ali Nawaz Awan, who has been made a party in the ECP’s intra-court appeal said that the inability of the commission to hold the election had exposed its bias so the chief election commissioner must resign.

Meanwhile, PMLN leader Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that the PTI government did not organize elections in the capital despite being in power. He added that defining UCs was the prerogative of the government and elections cannot be held on such short notice as mobilisation of thousands of staff members is needed.

Contempt petition

PTI leader Ali Nawaz Awan has file a petition in the IHC seeking contempt proceedings against the electoral watchdog over its failure to comply with the court’s order and hold local government elections in the federal capital on Saturday.

A day earlier, the IHC had directed the ECP to conduct local body polls in Islamabad today (Dec 31).