PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday dismissed 19 petitions challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s notification of re-polling at 356 polling stations of different local councils in 14 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Qaiser Rasheed pronounced that the petitions were not maintainable as factual controversies were involved that could not be challenged in a petition.

The bench announced that the earlier order through which the said notification was suspended stood vacated and now the ECP could announce fresh date for re-polling.

These petitions were filed by contesting candidates whereas one of the petitioners was an MPA of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Mohammad Zahid Durrani, who had requested the court to declare the entire May 30 local government election void on account of massive rigging and mismanagement and to order fresh elections.

The impugned notification was issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan on June 25 and through it the commission had announced re-polling in 356 polling stations on Jul 5.

However, a bench of the high court had on Jul 3 suspended the said notification and stayed the scheduled re-polling.

Shumail Ahmad Butt, lawyer for the ECP, argued the petitions were not maintainable before the high court under Article 199 of the Constitution.

Observes ECP free to give fresh schedule of electoral exercise

He said under Section 87 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013 and Rule 44 of the Local Councils (Conduct of Elections) Rules 2013, no election could be questioned by the candidate except through an election petition before an election tribunal.

Butt said the factual controversies were involved in petitions, which could not be decided in the jurisdiction of the court under Article 1999.

He said petitioners should move election tribunals.

The lawyer said the ECP had ordered fresh polling at polling stations on those categories of seats in village/ neighbourhood council, tehsil/ town council and district council of the province where polling was stopped/ interrupted due to snatching of ballot boxes/ ballot papers, entrance of miscreants and other reasons when local government elections were held across the province on May 30.

He said the main issue before the court was the interpretation of Rule 28 of the Local Councils Rules, which were related to halt of or interruption in polling.

The lawyer added that under the said rule, the ECP was fully empowered to fix fresh date for re-polling at polling stations, where disturbance had taken place.

About the petition of Zahid Durrani, he said the petition was not maintainable as the petitioner was not an aggrieved person.

He said neither Durrani had contested polls nor was there any cause of action for him to challenge it.

The petitioners had challenged the re-polling on different grounds. Some claimed that notification regarding their winning the polls had already been issued following which the ECP had no authority to order re-polling in the polling stations in their wards.

Some complained about the delaying of the re-polling saying in the month of Ramazan and due to scorching heat, the voters’ turnout would be nominal and therefore, re-polling should not be held on July 5.

Naveed Akhtar, Aamir Jawed, Amjid Ali, Khushdil Khan, Arshid Jamal Qureshi, Qazi Zakiuddin, Syed Kausar Ali, Muazam Butt and other lawyers appeared for petitioners.

They contended that once the ECP issued notification declaring their clients as returned candidates from a particular ward, it had no powers to order re-polling in any of the polling stations in the respective wards.

The lawyer also said under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, the Election Commission of Pakistan’s had no authority to order fresh polling at a polling station.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play