Islamabad, July 1 (UNI) Pakistan Supreme Court on Friday announced that the election for Punjab Chief Minister slot would be held on July 22, after the provincial government, PTI and PML-Q reached a consensus on the matter.
Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, who appeared before the top court via video link, gave consent to one of the options the apex court had given them, reported Express Tribune.
The orders came after a day-long deliberation on how to move forward, following the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to re-count the votes polled during the April 16 election for the post of provincial chief executive. The LHC had ruled to re-count the votes, excluding those polled by 25 PTI dissidents.
PTI has challenged the LHC's decision, calling it 'flawed'.
"All parties have agreed to hold the election of the Chief Minister on July 22," Pakistan Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked, while concluding the hearing in the case. The court said that detailed verdict of the case will be issued by tonight.
In its appeal, PTI had stated that while the LHC had accepted the party's position, the order to convene a meeting of the provincial assembly on short notice would prove detrimental. Terming the LHC's decision as "unconstitutional", it said that a suitable time frame must be provided to convene a meeting of the Assembly, so that all members may attend as votes are to be recounted on Friday.
PTI further called for the suspension of Hamza Shahbaz from the CMs post and removal from office, so that 'fair and transparent elections' could be held. It also called for the order of election to be suspended immediately, seeking their appeal to be heard by the apex court on an emergency basis.
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