ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday made it mandatory for contestants in the upcoming election to submit an affidavit with their nomination forms, containing information about sections removed from the revised forms.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was directed to prepare the affidavit and asked the contestants to submit it within three days. Those who have already submitted their nomination papers are also required to submit the affidavit.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, in its short order on Wednesday, said, “The affidavit will be deemed to be given to the Supreme Court and not the Returning Officer.” It held that any omission and commission in the affidavit would be considered false before the court, and treated as perjury and contempt of court, adding that the affidavit must cover all sections in the old forms that are missing in the revised version.
The contestants will be required to get the affidavit attested from oath commissioners.
Reiterating a statement made earlier as well, the chief justice said that the apex court was not going to postpone elections. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed added there would be no compromise on the final date of the election.
Earlier, senior lawyer Shahid Hamid, representing National Assembly speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, argued that the decision of the Lahore High Court’s single-judge bench over the nomination papers was in contravention of the law.
The LHC had annulled changes made in the forms under the Election Act of 2017 and asked the ECP to revise forms updating them with all the information previously included in them. In its June 1 ruling, it took exception to omission of sections under which candidates were required to submit details about their educational background, criminal record, and dual citizenship.
During Wednesday’s hearing at the SC, the speaker’s counsel said the latter had not filed the appeal against the LHC verdict for any personal benefit, but he wanted the supremacy of law passed by the Parliament. Senate elections were also held under the Election Act of 2017, and no one objected to the law back then, he added.
The chief justice remarked that the court could examine the Senate elections as well. He said the issue of dual nationality had been covered in Article 63 of the constitution, while the issue of disqualifications was covered in the General Clause Act. He said the tax-related information was provided for in the tax laws.
The court frequently inquired from the counsel of the speaker to identify specific rights [of the latter] being violated in the matter. The counsel insisted that his client was not representing the party.
Further, the chief justice noted that PML-N quaid Nawaz Sharif had stated that he was willing to provide all information [required in old forms].
The speaker’s counsel said that information needed in the old forms was already declared by contestants under other laws, therefore, it would be duplicated and superfluous. The chief justice responded, “We want neat and clean people should come in the parliament, besides, we and voters want information about their representatives”.
Muhammad Ibrahim Satti, appearing on behalf of the ECP, stated that throughout the proceedings before the LHC the commission had maintained that the candidate should provide the information.
The chief justice noted that returning officer would scrutinise nomination papers on the basis of the information given in affidavits. He said ECP might extend the period for scrutiny by a day.
The chief justice said that in a separate hearing he would take up the issue of campaign spending as well. The court said that the vires of the law would be examined later.
During the hearing, Justice Saeed noted that the federal government had delayed the matter in the high court for seven months. He said the apex court had announced the verdict on the case in 2011.
Published in Daily Times, June 7th 2018.