ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday clarifie
d 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 claime
d that it was its
constitutional mandat
e to hold elections within sixty days of the dissolving of Parliament, and sai
d that consider
ing all legal implications of the IHC verdict, the court could not disqualify the ECP’s decisions on delimitation.
The ECP also sai
d 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 hel
d that the delimitation had occurred on political grounds and the ECP had not followed standard procedures in delimitation. The presiding judge rule
d that the rule
s pertaining to population an
d that were followed in other
constituencies must be kept in mind in these
constituencies as well.
