Islamabad: In a last-minute plea, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) candidate for the presidential elections, has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to delay the polls until the electoral college is complete. The demand comes just hours before the scheduled elections.
Achakzai, in a letter addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, highlighted that the electoral college required for a presidential election remains incomplete due to vacant reserved seats in the National Assembly and provincial assemblies. He argued that conducting the presidential election without filling these seats would deny the fundamental rights of voters and violate the law and constitution.
Citing a stay order issued by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) regarding the reserved seats, Achakzai expressed confidence that the court’s decision would favor the PTI-backed SIC. He emphasized that until the reserved seats are filled, holding the presidential polls would be deemed illegal and against the spirit of the Constitution.
Achakzai’s demand for postponement comes amidst a backdrop of legal challenges and controversies surrounding the allocation of reserved seats to the SIC. The party’s eligibility for reserved seats allotted to women and minorities was rejected by the ECP, prompting legal action and stay orders from the PHC and other high courts.
The PTI’s alliance with the SIC and its independent candidates, who were denied election symbols by the Supreme Court, has further complicated the electoral landscape. Despite winning a significant number of seats in the February general elections, PTI-backed candidates contested as independents due to the party’s denial of election symbols.
The ongoing legal battles and uncertainties surrounding the allocation of reserved seats have led Achakzai to invoke the PHC stay order as the basis for seeking a postponement of the presidential elections.
As the nation awaits a resolution to these legal challenges, the fate of the presidential elections hangs in the balance, reflecting the complexities of Pakistan’s political and legal landscape.
