ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday observed that the constitutional and legal institutions must be independent and sovereign.

He also stressed that the election process should be transparent and free from any pressure or favour. He said he wished to make the authority of the Election Commission of Pakistan clear. He gave these observations while heading a three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, which was hearing a case pertaining to re-poll order of the ECP for Sarai Naurang Tehsil of Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In January this year, the ECP had ordered re-polling at six polling stations in Sarai Naurang where women were barred from casting votes during the first phase of the KP’s local body polls. When the matter came to the Supreme Court, it had sought details from the ECP on its re-poll order.

When the court started hearing of the case on Thursday, Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, senior counsel for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza, stated that the ECP had ordered re-poll in Sarai Naurang Tehsil after the situation deteriorated during the election of the chairperson.

He stated that only at one polling station of the Tehsil, no votes were cast, however the voting was held peacefully and as per schedule at others polling stations of the Tehsil. The court inquired about the incident of firing outside the women polling station, where a person was reportedly killed.

The court pointed out that the report of returning officer showed that the ECP had ordered a re-poll due to the worsening law-and-order situation in the Tehsil. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah pointe out that women could not go to the polling stations to cast their votes due to the looming fears.

Latif Khosa then stated that he believed in the sovereignty of the ECP as he was not affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). He said the ECP should have submitted a fair report based on ground realities. “There were a total of 108 polling stations in the constituency and the JUI-F had won,” the chief justice noted.

Latif Khosa stated that the ECP had ordered a re-poll on February 13, thus the case may be decided before February 13. Meanwhile, a senior law representative of the ECP requested the court to allow some more time enabling him to submit reply. After hearing all the parties, the court adjourned the hearing until February 8.