HARRISBURG — The speaker of the Pennsylvania House said Thursday he would schedule special elections to fill six vacancies, but he was sharply critical of the state Supreme Court order that mandated the action.

Speaker Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, accused the high court of a “veiled agenda” that had increased its power at the Legislature’s expense.

Smith had resisted calling the elections for the four Democratic and two Republican districts because new district maps for the House and Senate, based on the 2010 census, were invalidated by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

The high court voted 4-3 on Wednesday to require Smith to schedule those vacancies to be filled April 24, along with the spring primary election.

“In the face of an over-reaching court, my refusal to call these six special elections will only insure a constitutional crisis not of my making,” Smith said.