- Three-member ECP bench hears disqualification reference against MNA Sohail Sultan from Swat NA-4
- Reference alleges false declaration over government service before polls
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday rejected a request by MNA Sohail Sultan for additional time in the disqualification reference against him, allowing him only one day to engage legal counsel.
A three-member bench of the ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner, heard the disqualification case against MNA Sohail Sultan, elected from Swat’s NA-4. Sultan had sought a two-week period to hire a lawyer.
However, the bench granted just one day, with the Chief Election Commissioner observing that the proceedings had already been delayed due to a stay order issued by the High Court. The commission subsequently adjourned the hearing until Friday (tomorrow).
It may be recalled that MNA Sohail Sultan had challenged before the High Court the reference forwarded by the Speaker to the Election Commission, along with the Commission’s notices. The reference, filed by a Swat resident, Nasrullah Khan, accuses Sultan of submitting false declarations regarding his government service. According to the reference, Sultan continued to serve as Deputy Attorney General, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, prior to the elections, whereas government employees are prohibited from contesting elections for two years after leaving service.
Meanwhile, another three-member bench of the Election Commission, also headed by the Chief Election Commissioner, reserved its judgment in a case involving alleged violations of the code of conduct by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and MNA Bilal Badr of NA-96, Faisalabad.
During the proceedings, counsel for Talal Chaudhry informed the Commission that his client had already tendered an unconditional apology. He further argued that the District Monitoring Officer had issued a warning on November 20, cautioning against any violation of the code of conduct, and on the same day imposed a fine of Rs50,000.
The counsel contended that the District Monitoring Officer had acted beyond the scope of the law and maintained that Talal Chaudhry had not violated the code of conduct. However, officials of the Election Commission asserted that the Commission holds full authority to proceed against any breaches of the code.
The electoral watchdog is scheduled to hear nine electoral cases between January 7 and January 14, according to cause lists published on the Commission’s official website. These cases include a disqualification reference against sitting legislator, proceedings on violation of the ECP’s code of conduct against public office holders, disputes over by-election results, cases relating to intra-party elections, and a reserved-seat candidate case.
The ECP functions as both an election management body as well as an adjudicatory forum, deriving its powers from Article 218(3) of the Constitution and the Elections Act 2017 enacted by the Parliament under the Article 222 of the Constitution. The Elections Act empowers the ECP to hear and decide complaints, applications, petitions or appeals, or act on its own motion in a range of issues relating to elections. Section 6(3) of the Act authorizes the Chief Election Commissioner to constitute benches, from amongst the five members of the Commission, comprising two or members for hearing and deciding such cases.
