PESHAWAR: On the eve of the Senate elections, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati filed a review plea in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday regarding the court’s directive to administer the oath to lawmakers elected on reserved seats.
The writ petition, submitted by Speaker Swati through Advocate Ali Azim Afridi, emphasizes that no requisition was received regarding the summoning of the assembly session.
According to the plea, “The elected person has to be administered oath before the provincial assembly within the meaning of Article 65 of the Constitution, which is only possible when an assembly session is summoned or requisitioned,” citing the court’s judgment in the Baldive Kumar’s case.
In response to the issue, KP Assembly Speaker Swati stated that his legal team and law department advised him that the governor does not possess the authority to summon a session, as was done earlier this month upon the opposition’s request.
“We believe in the rule of law,” he affirmed while addressing the media in Peshawar.
Regarding the upcoming Senate polls scheduled for April 2, Swati mentioned that the assembly secretariat has completed preparations for Tuesday’s elections, designating the assembly hall as the polling station.
Last week, a two-member PHC bench comprising Justice Attique Shah and Justice Shakeel Ahmad, responding to a petition by opposition parties in the provincial assembly, ordered the swearing-in of members elected on reserved seats.
Oath-taking on reserved seats in KP has sparked controversy due to the impasse between the provincial government and opposition parties, with significant implications for the Senate elections, which aim to fill 11 seats from the province.
However, due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding oath-taking on reserved seats, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) signaled the possibility of postponing the Senate election, stressing that no voter should be deprived of the fundamental right to vote.
The electoral body asserted its authority to issue directions and make consequential orders to ensure the elections are conducted honestly, justly, and fairly in accordance with the law.
“The Commission may, in addition to any other action, extend the time for completion of the Senate election to the extent of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa till the administration of oath to members,” stated the ECP in its seven-page verdict.
