PHC seeks voter registration record of PTI candidate for women’s seat

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday sought voter registration record from Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of Ayesha Bibi a candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for one vacant seat reserved for women of erstwhile Fata in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

A division bench comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Muhammad Naeem Anwar issued the notice to the ECP to submit voter registration record of the PTI’s woman candidate for party’s one vacant seat reserved for women in the KP Assembly.

The bench issued the notice in a writ petition filed by Awami National Party MPA Nisar Mohmand. He is seeking disqualification of PTI’s woman candidate on the vacant reserved seat for women.

The petitioner claimed that Ayesha Bibi was not a registered voter till August 26, in the erstwhile Fata during submission of her nomination papers before the Returning Officer (RO).

During arguments, Sajeed Khan Afridi, counsel for the petitioner, submitted before the bench that the RO issued the public notice on August 21 as per schedule.

He submitted candidates were asked to receive nomination papers from August 23 to 26. However, he submitted that the respondent PTI candidate Ayesha Bibi was by then not registered voter anywhere in the merged tribal districts.

The lawyer contended that the PTI candidate obtained her voter certificate on August 28, which has been attached with the petition.

The petitioner claimed that the PTI woman candidate, who is on top on the party’s priority list for one vacant seat, was registered as a voter on August 28. Being a candidate of the ruling party, he alleged, she managed her registration for becoming MPA through foul means to process her nominations.

The ANP lawmaker submitted the latest female voter list of the Mohmand Agency to the court in which the respondent candidate was not registered as a voter.

The petitioner claimed he also made efforts to ascertain from the SMS service of the ECP which is 8300, but the vote registration number of the respondent candidate could not be provided to date.

In the grounds of the petition, it said that Ayesha Bibi being not a registered voter in the merged districts, only produced certificate during scrutiny of nominations, therefore, she is not qualified to contest election for the reserved seats for women in the merged districts.

It was alleged that the RO had played foul and committed illegality to accept the nomination papers without her being registered voter in the merged tribal districts.

“Any registration of her (Ayesha Bibi) vote after August 21 when the process of election started for the reserved seat of women of merged districts by RO any other authority is illegal and, therefore, not acceptable in the law and thus she be declared disqualified,” the petitioner prayed before the court.

On the other hand, Nasir Mehmood, representing the ECP, submitted before the bench that the RO had cleared nomination papers of four candidates in the scrutiny, including the respondent candidate.

He submitted that she was declared qualified by the RO and the petitioner or any aggrieved candidate can only challenge it in the Appellate Tribunal, a proper forum against the decision of the RO.

The ECP counsel submitted that the petition is not maintainable. He requested the court to dismiss it.After arguments, the court directed the ECP to produce the voter registration record of the respondent PTI candidate and fixed September 12 for a final decision.