ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Friday directed authorities to hold a re-election for the post of Punjab chief minister on July 22, local media reported, a day after a high court ordered a recount of votes for the election held in April.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered a recount of votes for the April 16 election which was won by Hamza Shehbaz, ruling the votes of 25 dissident lawmakers of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party who voted for Shehbaz would not be counted.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-seated these 25 lawmakers in May for deviating from the party’s policy and voting for Shehbaz in the election for CM's slot.
The PTI challenged the high court’s verdict in the Supreme Court on Friday and after much back-and-forth, all parties to the case — the PTI, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Shehbaz —agreed to the chief minister’s election on July 22 and that Shehbaz would stay as the CM till July 17.
"The apex court issued the verbal order as a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, took up the petition filed earlier today," Dawn news website reported.
Shehbaz told reporters outside the court that the CM's election would be held five days after the July 17 by-polls for the Punjab Assembly seats that fell vacant after the ECP de-seated 25 PTI members.
“I told them [Supreme Court judges] that this is acceptable to me,” CM Shehbaz said. “I have nothing to hide.”
Shehbaz, a member of the now ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, got 197 votes in the chief minister's election but was left with the support of 172 members in the house after the disqualification of the 25 MPs.
The high court’s verdict had said if the required majority for Shehbaz, which is 186 votes in the 371-member house, was not secured, the election would be held again under Article 130(4), unless another candidate secured majority votes.
Article 130(4) says in the second round of voting, a member would not require 186 votes but simply needed a majority of those “present and voting” to be elected the chief minister.
The top post in Punjab had fallen vacant after the resignation of former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar, a close aide of PTI leader Imran Khan, in early April.
Much of political drama has since surrounded the coveted post in the country's most populous and resourceful province.