Senate elections: EC requests government to revoke ordinance
Elections in FATA can resume only if the presidential ordinance is withdrawn: EC sources.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Election Commission (EC) on Thursday pleaded the government to revoke the ordinance.
Sources of EC revealed that the ordinance was vague and clarified that elections in FATA can resume only if the presidential ordinance was withdrawn.
Six members of FATA, on the other hand, left their polling booths and reached the Assembly Hall instead whereas six independent FATA MNAs were casting vote for two seats of Islamabad and were not allowed to cast vote for the members of FATA.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Thursday met MNAs from FATA again and advised them to consult the court.
He explained that they do not possess the authority to revoke the ordinance.
Earlier today, a petition against the presidential ordinance, posed to amend the regulations for members of FATA pertaining to Senate elections, was filed at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday.
The petition requested to annul the new approach to elect the senators, introduced by the presidential ordinance. It has also been maintained that the Senate elections in FATA must be conducted under the previous regulations.
Election Commission has sought the perspective of the Law Ministry over the Statuary Regulatory Order (SRO) asking if the new regulation could be implemented after the schedule for the elections was implemented. EC stated that the situation would be clarified after the Law Ministry shares its opinion.
Meanwhile, presiding officers have stopped FATA members to cast vote.
Also, anew presidential ordinance pertaining to the senate elections was passed in FATA; just a few hours before the elections were to commence.
According to the ordinance, each Member of National Assembly (MNA) would be able to cast a singular vote. Hence, thenotification rendered the unification of 6 members ineffective. Prior to the notification, six of eleven MNAs could collectively elect four senators that shrunk the significance of the votes of other six members.
Shahabuddin, member of the government, had sternly opposed this practice and had demanded to remodel the relevant rule. He further stated that six of the members, who have grouped together, if not hampered, would elect members through horse-trading.
An amendment in the regulations was made, for the members from FATA, through a presidential ordinance in 2002.
According to the sources, six independent candidates out of the total 11 members from FATA had formed a group in the National Assembly that nullified the importance of the votes of other five members including 3 members from Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), one from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and one from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F).
