ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday clarified that elections would still be held on the 25th of July, despite a Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict on Tuesday that held delimitation in four constituencies void.
The ECP claimed that it was its constitutional mandate to hold elections within sixty days of the dissolving of Parliament, and said that considering all legal implications of the IHC verdict, the court could not disqualify the ECP’s decisions on delimitation.
The ECP also said that it would soon release the schedule of the general elections.
The IHC on Tuesday had set aside delimitation in four constituencies–Jhelum, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Lower Dir, and remanded them back to the ECP.
The petition in this case had held that the delimitation had occurred on political grounds and the ECP had not followed standard procedures in delimitation. The presiding judge ruled that the rules pertaining to population and that were followed in other constituencies must be kept in mind in these constituencies as well.
