Nawaz’s nomination papers challenged

LAHORE/ ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI/MANSEHRA: PMLN Quaid and former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Monday faced an unpleasant situation when an appeal was filed with the election tribunal challenging the acceptance of his nomination papers from NA-130, Lahore and NA-15, Mansehra.

The appeal — filed by the Pakistan Awami Mahaz chief Ishtiaq Chaudhry Advocate — said Nawaz was not eligible to contest the election, as he had been disqualified by the Supreme Court for life but the returning officer accepted his papers.

Meanwhile, the PTI challenged Nawaz Sharif’s papers’ clearance by the Returning Officer in NA-15 at the Regional Election Tribunal in Hazara.

“Nawaz Sharif has been disqualified from holding any public office, and contesting general elections by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2017, how a Returning Officer gave him a clean chit to contest the Feb 8, election in NA-15 Mansehra-II,” Waqar Khan, the PTI legal advisor, told reporters in Mansehra.

He said a lawyers panel led by him moved a writ petition in Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench, challenging the Returning Officer NA-15 Hajrah Sami’s order in which she ruled out their objections on Nawaz’s papers for NA-15, Mansehra.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Monday announced the candidates whose nomination papers were either accepted or rejected for the 2024 general elections.

The nomination papers of 6,449 candidates, including 6,094 male and 355 female candidates, for the National Assembly seats from Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad Capital Territory have been accepted. The returning officers (ROs) have rejected the documents of 1,024 candidates, including 934 men and 90 women, for the NA seats.

A total of 7,473 candidates filed their nomination papers, including 445 women for the National Assembly.

The ROs approved 16,262 nomination papers for the four provincial assemblies. A total of 18,478 candidates, including 17,670 male and 808 female candidates, filed their nomination papers. The nomination papers of 2,216 candidates, including 2,081 men and 135 women, failed to get approval of ROs for the provincial assemblies.

Overall, 22,711 nomination papers for NA and provincial assemblies general seats have been approved, the ECP said. Out of 22,711, 21,684 candidates are men and 1,027 women. A total of 25,951 papers were submitted. The ROs repudiated the nomination papers of 3,240 candidates from the national and provincial assemblies, including 3,015 male and 225 female candidates.

The five-day scrutiny, beginning December 25, saw major setbacks for political bigwigs such as the PTI founder Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others, as the electoral body rejected their nomination papers.

Those whose nomination papers got rejected can still appeal the top electoral body’s decision by January 3. The appeals will be decided upon by the ECP’s Appellate Tribunal by January 10, followed by subsequent publication of the revised list of candidates on January 11.

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan Monday clarified that the former ruling party had no strained ties with the establishment and other state institutions, reports Geo News. He clarified his party’s stance saying, “The armed forces are ours. We have no tense ties with the establishment or any other institution.”

Talking to journalists, he reiterated that Imran Khan-led party would contest the general elections at all costs even if it was denied the ‘bat’ symbol.

He urged the judiciary to play its role in ensure a level-playing field for all political parties ahead of the polls. Gohar demanded the Supreme Court and its chief justice to take notice.

Meanwhile, Returning Officer (RO) for NA-56 (Rawalpindi v) Syed Nazarat Ali Monday rejected the nomination papers of former interior minister Sheikh Rashid and his nephew Sheikh Rashid Shafiq.

The RO declared the two defaulters and guilty of concealing assets concerning their income. In another development, the PTI Monday challenged the disqualification of Senator Azam Khan Swati and others at the Peshawar High Court (PHC)’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench.

“We have separately moved our writ petitions challenging the returning officers orders in which they disqualified me, Senator Azam Khan Swati and others from contesting Feb 8 general elections,” Kamal Saleem Swati, divisional spokesman for the PTI Hazara, told reporters.

The PHC chief justice has given the Abbottabad Circuit Bench the authority to act as the Regional Election Tribunal under Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel to hear cases of disqualification and other issues related to elections in the Hazara division. In a related development, the Election Commission has written a letter to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), seeking prompt action against the media channels violating the election code of conduct.

The Pemra says that it has been observed that some media channels are airing poll surveys — a practice that is ‘explicitly prohibited under Clause 12 of ECP’s Code of Conduct for National Media’. The electoral body pointed out that Clause 12 emphasised that both the print and social media should refrain from conducting polls and surveys at the polling stations or constituencies.

“Such activities have the potential to influence the voters’ free choice and may disrupt the electoral process”.

The electoral body called upon the Pemra to take a ‘prompt and immediate action’ against the electronic media channels in strict alignment with Clause 12 of the ECP’s Code of Conduct for National Media.

In yet another development, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) Monday urged the Election Commission to publish the decisions of returning officers (ROs) regarding objections to the nomination papers on its website, which will contribute to a more informed discourse and strengthen electoral transparency.