PBC bans canvassing for votes by ads, banners, posters during bar elections

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has banned canvassing for votes through advertisements, banners, placards and posters during Bar Councils and Bar Associations. It warned that any violation in this regard will be treated as misconduct -qualifying/disentitling the prospective/contesting candidate to contest election of the Bar Council and/or the Bar Association, as the case may be.

The decision was taken during a joint meeting of Judicial and Electoral Reforms Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council with Vice-Chairmen of Provincial/Islamabad Bar Councils and Presidents of High Court Bar Associations held here on Friday in Council’s Office, Supreme Court Building Islamabad with Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, in the Chair. The joint meeting while considering the matter of formulating proposals of amendments in Rules of the Pakistan Bar Council, for reformation of election process of Bar Councils and Bar Associations, has decided that no prospective/contesting candidate or his supporter, in the ensuing elections of Provincial/Islamabad Bar Councils and the Bar Associations, shall canvass for votes through advertisements, banners, placards and posters.

He may, however, solicit support through personal contact and by issuing letters and visiting cards of “3 x 5“size on which he may also display his photograph. The meeting warned that any violation thereof shall be treated as “misconduct”, disqualifying/disentitling the prospective/contesting candidate to contest election of the Bar Council and/or the Bar Association, as the case may be. The joint meeting also decided that in the election of Bar Associations in case of transfer of name of a voter member from one Bar Association to another, the transferee member/voter will be eligible to cast his vote in the election of the Bar Association to which he gets his name transferred, only after expiry of two years of such transfer.

The meeting besides Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Abid Saqi was also attended by Azam Nazeer Tarar, Member, Judicial and Electoral Reforms Committee PBC, Tahir Nasrullah Warraich, Member, Judicial and Electoral Reforms Committee, PBC President, Lahore High Court Bar Association, Lahore. Sher Muhammad Khan, Chairman, Executive Committee Pakistan Bar Council, Kamran Murtaza, Member Pakistan Bar Council, Haider Imam Rizvi, Vice-Chairman Sindh Bar Council, Shahid Qayum Khattak, Member, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council, Qazi Rafi-ud-Din Babar, Vice-Chairman Islamabad Bar Council and Abdul Latif Afridi, President Peshawar High Court Bar Association, Peshawar.