Pakistan's constitution binds the commission to schedule elections within 90 days of the dissolution of national or provincial legislatures. "Neither the constitution nor the law empowers the commission to extend the date of elections beyond the 90 days," read the ruling. It set May 14 as the new date for polls in Punjab to make up for the time lost. "The impugned order … made by the Election Commission of Pakistan is declared to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction … and is hereby quashed," the three-member bench led by the chief justice ruled Tuesday. His successor, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, rejected his call for new elections and backed the election panel's delay, saying it was impossible to organize the votes while the country suffered from an economic crisis and growing terrorist attacks. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party, or PTI, controlled the legislatures and governments in central Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces until January, when he dissolved them to force early nationwide polls.
The verdict handed a political victory to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been pushing for early national elections since he was ousted from power by a parliamentary no-confidence vote a year ago. Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered Tuesday that snap elections in two provinces must be held on May 14, declaring that a delay of the votes by a government-backed election commission was unlawful.
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