Many PTI candidates file an appeal when their papers are rejected
As the election process went to the appellate stage on Monday, dozens of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates filed complaints with the election tribunals challenging the rejection of their nomination papers by the appropriate returning officers during inspection.
Invoking Section 63 of the Elections Act, a lawyer located in Lahore has simultaneously objected to the acceptance of Nawaz Sharif, the head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N),’s nomination papers.
This is an important stage in the election process since appeal tribunals, which are made up of judges from high courts, have started to hear appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers for seats in both the national and provincial assemblies.
A representative for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) confirmed that multiple PTI candidates have in fact filed appeals with the tribunals, confirming this change of events.
Approximately 3,000 nomination papers were rejected during the most recent inspection procedure, out of 25,951 that were inspected nationwide. PTI candidates were mostly to blame for these rejections. 22,711 nomination papers were accepted, whilst 2,216 nomination papers for provincial assemblies and 1,024 for seats in the National Assembly were rejected, according to ECP data.
Notices regarding an appeal against PTI leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi’s nomination papers being rejected were sent by a panel at the Sindh High Court in Karachi.
Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio eventually heard the appeal after Tribunal Judge Justice Arshad Hussain declined to hear it. Naqvi has contested the RO’s ruling on NA-236. The respondents were asked to answer by the tribunal.
Additionally, Mazhar Junejo, an independent candidate from PS-86, had his nomination papers rejected. Justice Tunio heard the appeal against this decision. Notices were sent by the tribunal to the concerned RO and ECP for January 4.
Important PTI members, such as Dr. Masroor Sial, Khurram Sher Zaman, Aftab Jahangir, Attaullah, Saeed Afridi, and Haleem Adil Shaikh, have appealed the rejection of their nomination papers in a number of Karachi constituencies.
The head of Pakistan Awami Mahaz (PAM), Ishtiaq Chaudhry, has filed an appeal in Lahore contesting the approval of Nawaz Sharif’s nomination documents. Chaudhry contends that Nawaz Sharif is not qualified to run in the elections because the Supreme Court has declared him ineligible for life.
Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers were accepted by the Returning Officer (RO) for NA-130 Lahore on December 26 after a rigorous inspection procedure. Ishtiaq Chaudhry, however, challenges this ruling, claiming that the RO accepted Nawaz’s nomination documents in defiance of verifiable facts. Chaudhry has therefore urged the rejection of Nawaz Sharif’s nomination papers and petitioned for his declaration of ineligibility.
The legal actions taken against well-known individuals highlight how serious elections are and how closely they must follow the law.
Moreover, Sheikh Rashid, a former minister and PTI ally, announced in Punjab that he intended to appeal the returning officer’s decision to reject his nomination papers. Denouncing accusations that he was in default, Sheikh Rashid made it clear that he had no unpaid debts.
A hearing for an appeal against the denial of PTI nominee Shoaib Shaheen’s nomination papers has been scheduled for the next day at the federal capital of Islamabad, Islamabad High Court, presided over by Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir. In his appeal, Shaheen argues that even though he submitted nomination papers for each of the three National Assembly constituencies in Islamabad, the returning officer rejected them all, which calls for the appellate tribunal to review the case.
Some PTI candidates from different districts in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have filed challenges against the rejection of their nomination papers. These candidates include Mujahid Khan, Zahir Toru, Aftab Alam, Yousuf Khan, Abu Tarab, Abdul Salam Afridi, Iftikhar Mashwani, and Ameer Farzand. The significant legal challenges highlight the risks associated with maintaining an impartial and open election system.
Similar to this, prominent PTI figure Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his son Zain Qureshi contested the RO’s decision to reject their nomination papers for NA-214 Tharparkar. Additionally, Mirza Akhtar Baig, the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) candidate for NA-241, filed an appeal against the dismissal of his papers.
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