Senate elections: Saifullah Abro, Rauf Siddiqui approach SHC over ruling on nomination papers

• MQM and PTI leaders ask the SHC to overturn an election tribunal decision declaring them ineligible for Senate polls
• Both leaders were vying for a technocrat seat from Sindh
• Leaders maintain that they do meet requirements for technocrat seat

KARACHI:   The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday said PTI leader Saifullah Abro  and MQM-Pakistan leader Rauf  Siddiqui's pleas challenging  an election tribunal’s order declaring them ineligible for Senate technocrat seats were admissible.

Abro, in his plea, told the court in the hearing that the tribunal issued the verdict on his nomination papers without considering the "facts". 

The PTI leader maintained that he meets all the requirements required from a person willing to contest the Senate elections on a technocrat seat.

He urged the court to declare the tribunal’s ruling as illegal and allow him to contest the Senate elections.

Abro was declared ineligible for the Senate election by an election tribunal after his nomination papers, that were accepted by the returning officer (RO), were challenged by petitioners GM Khan and Shahid Ali last week.

The petitioners had contested the RO's ruling saying that the PTI leader does not fulfill the requirements of a technocrat as he has criminal cases registered against him, and was being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). They had also claimed that the PTI leader had hidden assets to his name.

However, Abro's lawyer had tried contesting those claims, but failed to convince the tribunal to issue a favourable ruling for his client.

In its verdict, the tribunal declared the verdict of the RO null and void and ruled that Abro cannot contest the Senate polls.

"The objections raised by the petitioners were proved true and Saifullah Abro does not fulfil the requirement of a technocrat," the order had stated.

Rauf Siddiqui urges court to allow him to contest Senate polls

Meanwhile, Rauf Siddiqui, whose papers were rejected by a returning officer, appealed to the court to overturn the decision and let him contest the senate polls.

The tribunal had earlier disqualified Rauf from contesting the Senate elections on Monday.

Rauf's appeal against the returning officer’s decision to declare him ineligible was rejected by the Election Tribunal as his lawyers could not come up with a satisfactory explanation for his eligibility.

The RO had rejected the nomination papers filed by Rauf Siddiqui on the grounds that he had not completed 16 years of education, which is a prerequisite for contesting candidates.

Rauf’s nomination papers were rejected the same day as Saifullah Abro's.