Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday issued its detailed judgment in the case related to Elections Act, 2017, wherein it had ruled that a disqualified lawmaker could not become the head of a political party.

On Feb 21, the Supreme Court in its short order on 17 almost identical petitions against the Elections Act, 2017, which had paved the way for disqualified prime minister Nawaz Sharif to regain headship of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had ruled that an individual disqualified under articles 62 and 63 of the constitution could not serve as head of a political party.

The 51-page judgment, authored by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, ruled that the Elections Act, 2017, was enacted to favour certain lawmakers who had been disqualified for violating articles 62 and 63 of the constitution.

“To hold that a person who is disqualified to be a king can nevertheless be given a freehand to operate as a kingmaker, who may despite lacking qualification and without going through the electoral process, act as a puppet master pull the strings and exercise political power vicariously would amount to making a complete mockery of the constitution, the legislative process, the law, the government and values that we hold so dear and have consciously worked for, defended and incorporated in the constitution,” the detailed judgement reads.

The verdict stated that all the political parties are bound to uphold high ethical standards. It has been noted that morality is a part and parcel of the Islamic ideology of Pakistan. “This is in line with the theme and underlying spirit of the Objectives Resolution,” the verdict stated.

It further stated that no civilized society can deny the standards of morality, adding that ‘to leave the political parties entirely free to do as they please is to suggest that morality does not matter’. It held that after being disqualified as prime minister on July 28, 2017, by the apex court in the Panama Papers case, Nawaz Sharif could not remain head of the party. “If sections 203 and 232 of the Elections Act are read independently of the constitution, it would be like opening the doors to control of political parties through remote control,” the judgment stated, adding that the law would have allowed those people to control the legislature who are otherwise unfit to be in parliament as per the constitution.

It recalled that the court has ruled earlier that the constitution cannot be bypassed by enacting another legislation.

It has been ruled that the Panama Papers case revealed names of Nawaz Sharif’s children as owners of offshore companies, however the then prime minister failed to satisfy the public due to his contradictory statements. It said that Nawaz Sharif was disqualified as prime minister on the basis of the joint investigation team’s report under Article 62 (1)(f) of the constitution. Following Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification as prime minister in the Panama Papers case, the ruling PML-N had managed to amend the constitution to allow the ousted premier to retain his chairmanship of the PML-N. As a result, the Elections Act, 2017, was passed by parliament in October 2017, bringing Nawaz Sharif back as the party president despite his disqualification as the National Assembly member. Among others, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan People’s Party and Awami Muslim League had challenged the law for allowing a disqualified parliamentarian to become a party head.

The petitions, challenging specific clauses of the Elections Act, 2017, stated that Nawaz Sharif’s appointment as party president was in violation of Section 5 of the Political Parties Order, 2002, and Article 17 of the constitution. The Elections Act, 2017, which was enacted to amend, consolidate and unify laws relating to conduct of elections came into force on September 2, 2017. In its short order, the court had declared Article 17 of the Elections Act, 2017, as null and void and directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to remove Nawaz Sharif as president of the PML-N. The court had also ruled that all steps taken, orders passed, directions given and documents issued by Nawaz Sharif as party head after the July 28, 2017, verdict of the apex court disqualifying him as member of the parliament will be deemed to be nullified.

Published in Daily Times, March 3^rd 2018.