Election tribunal to take up plea against Kulsoom

LAHORE: An election tribunal comprising a judge of the Lahore High Court would soon take up election petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Dr Yasmin Rashid against victory of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz in NA-120 by-poll.
Dr Yasmin Rashid’s counsel Anees Hashmi on Monday told an election tribunal comprising retired sessions judge that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had transferred the petition to the high court for its hearing. He said Justice Aminuddin Khan would hear the petition as election tribunal. Since filing of the petition, the counsel had taken a plea that a tribunal comprising sitting judge of the high court was competent to hear election petitions under the new law “The Election Act 2017”.
The tribunal’s member, Shahid Rafiq, adjourned hearing until December 11 to wait for issuance of a notification regarding transfer of the petition by the ECP. Dr Yasmin had lost her election to Kulsoom Nawaz in the much-hyped by-poll of the National Assembly’s constituency from Lahore that had fallen vacant after the disqualification of former premier Nawaz Sharif in Panama Papers case.
The PML-N’s Kulsoom Nawaz had secured 61,745 while the PTI’s candidate bagged 47,099 votes. Yasmin Rashid stated in her petition that verification of 29,607 votes of the constituency had not been carried out by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra). She alleged that more than one vote were cast against one identity card in the by-poll and fake votes were also cast on behalf of deceased voters of the constituency.
The petitioner pleaded that the election code of conduct was blatantly violated during the campaign by the party of the returned candidate. She asked the ECP to declare the result of the by-poll null and void besides declaring her (petitioner) returned candidate or order a fresh poll in the constituency.