The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday suspended the disqualification of PTI candidate Umar Amin Khan Gandapur for the DI Khan mayor.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah suspended the ECP’s decision in a petition filed Umar Amin Khan Gandapur.
Gandapur’s lawyer Barrister Syed Ali Zafar pleaded that the petitioner was running his election campaign in accordance with the code of conduct and enabling provisions of the election laws. He argued that his client’s rights under Section 234 of the Election laws had been violated by stopping him from contesting the election.
He said Section 234 provided that a monitoring team will be constituted by the ECP in a region where elections were to be held. This team will monitor the election campaigns of the contesting candidates to see that they are not violating the provisions of Election laws and rules. In case a violation is noted, then the team will hold summary proceedings and, at best, can impose a fine upon a candidate. If the candidate repeats the same violation again, then the team is required under the law to refer the matter to the ECP for initiation of action against such candidate. However, Barrister Zafar stressed that the law does not empower the election monitoring team or any of its member to take any decision on their own or refer the matter to the ECP prior to holding of summary proceedings.
In the case of the petitioner, Barrister Zafar told the court that the regional election commissioner was the district monitoring officer. He never sent any notice to the petitioner notifying violations of any provisions of the elections laws or rules. Neither any summary proceedings were held, nor was the matter referred to the ECP by the respondent No.3 for initiation of an action against the petitioner. Instead, the ECP took notice of the matter on its own, disregarding the mandatory provisions of Election Laws as described under Section 234. Barrister Zafar argued that even otherwise as per the judgments of Superior Courts of Pakistan (2006 SCMR 1485), during the pendency of a constitution petition against a decision of disqualification by ECP, the candidate is allowed to contest the elections. Barrister Zafar prayed the court that the ECP’s order dated February 7 may be turned down allowing his client to participate in the elections.
