(Stacked) Court Upholds Musharraf Election

[tekisui]

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 19 — The newly formed Supreme Court of Pakistan, which was appointed after emergency rule was imposed two weeks ago, today dismissed the main outstanding challenges to Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s election for another presidential term, almost certainly ensuring his confirmation as president later this week.

Ten judges were hearing the case today. Within three hours, they dismissed five of six challenges to General Musharraf’s candidacy.

“There were five petitions, they have all been dismissed,” said the attorney general, Malik Abdul Qayyum. “There is only one left and that will be heard on Thursday," he was quoted by newswires as saying after the proceedings.

The sixth petition, which is not a direct challenge to General Musharraf but a complaint to the Election Commission from a candidate who was eliminated from the presidential race, will be heard on Thursday. That is expected to be dismissed, too, paving the way for the court to confirm General Musharraf’s election to another five year term.

(snip)

The powerful challenge that the previous Supreme Court represented to General Musharraf was the main reason why, on Nov. 3, days before the court was due to rule, he introduced de facto martial law, suspending the Constitution, dismissing the Supreme Court, and arresting the chief justice and other leading judges, a senior government aide has admitted.




more at link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/world/asia/20pakistan.html

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Wow - sounds like they have a bench full of Scalias!

;)

[Jim__]

2. One thing about stacked courts - they're predictable.

Glad we don't have stacked courts in this country. :sarcasm:

[Igel]

3. One problem is the legal games being played.

I can't find the article I remember seeing in the Pakistani press--the NYT link alludes to what it said, however. At least a couple of the 5 dismissed cases had to be dismissed; the plaintiffs didn't show or withdrew them, sure that the SC would rule against them and not wanting to jeopardize their standing when the "real" SC is reappointed Real Soon Now and they have a better chance of pressing their cases.

Of course, this is a long-shot gamble for a real victory or angling for a pyrrhic victory.

1/8/08 seems like a good date for elections, considering the rationale for the date and recent events in Parachinar. A Musharraf army chief seems to have been IDed. And there's a real argument to be made that by saying that everything is to be done as closely as possible with the provisions of the '73 Constitution the PCO effectively revokes the post-coup Constitutional change that allows Musharraf to stay as both army chief and president--although that's a matter of argument, and it's validity seems to depend on who's making the argument. It, too, could provide grounds for revised complaints before the SC should he not step down.

The problem with an independent court, however, is that Musharraf is also responsible for having the charges against Bhutto dropped. Her return home followed hard on the heels of having those corruption charges rescinded. But the rescission probably wasn't quite right: http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/19/top13.htm , and I don't know that the change in the SC will have an effect on the corruption charges.