Ali Amin Gandapur’s brother disqualified over poll code violations

DERA ISMAIL KHAN/PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday disqualified Umar Amin Gandapur, a brother of Federal Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, from contesting the local government elections in Dera Ismail Khan over repeated violations of the election code of conduct.

A three-member bench of the ECP headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja announced its verdict while hearing the case about violations of code of conduct in run up to polls in Dera Ismail Khan.

Umar Amin Gandapur was a candidate for the city council mayoral slot. He has decided to move the court against his disqualification. Talking to reporters, he said that he would challenge the verdict in the court as he expected justice from the court.

However, the ECP allowed Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur conditional entry into Dera Ismail Khan with the direction that he will not attend any political gathering or corner meeting till the culmination of the polls.

The commission had last week written to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary and inspector general of police to oust Ali Amin Gandapur forcibly from Dera Ismail Khan till the conclusion of the local government elections.

The orders were issued after the commission took notice of the continued violations of the electoral code of conduct by Ali Amin Gandapur and slapped a fine of Rs50,000 on him.

The LG polls for the city council Dera Ismail Khan are slated to be held on February 13. Earlier, the polls in the town were supposed to be held on December 19 but were postponed after the murder of Umar Khitab Sherani Advocate, a candidate of the Awami National Party, for the slot of the mayor.

It is worth mentioning here that the election commission sprang into action against violators of electoral codes in the DI Khan polls in recent weeks as it imposed a Rs50,000 fine on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) candidate Mohammad Kafeel Nizami. In addition, the ECP has also asked the provincial government to take disciplinary action against Zia-ur-Rehman, a brother of JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman and an officer of the provincial management service, for allegedly violating the code of conduct during the polls.