ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday suspended the by-election, scheduled for April 23, for the vacant Senate seat of PTI’s Murad Saeed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a petition challenged legality of vacancy and requested postponement of further proceedings.
A three-member bench of ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the petition and issued notices to all concerned parties. During the hearing, petitioner’s lawyer argued Murad Saeed had been elected as a senator but never took the oath of office. He contended since the senator-elect did not take the oath, it raises questions about how he was de-notified, as a person is considered a member of the House only after taking the oath.
The petitioner’s counsel also requested ECP to postpone the by-election until legal ambiguity is resolved.
After hearing the arguments, ECP accepted the request, stayed the by-election scheduled for April 23, and adjourned the case until May 7. The ECP order further noted Barrister Muhammad Yaseen Raza appeared on behalf of the applicant and submitted his power of attorney, which was accepted. He argued a fundamental legal question must be decided — whether a lawful vacancy has actually been created.
He maintained no lawful vacancy exists because Murad Saeed never took the oath or assumed office and, therefore, never became a member of Senate in the constitutional sense. He termed the process flawed due to a jurisdictional error evident on record.
