PTI mounts efforts to get defectors barred from contesting by-polls on PML-N tickets

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday seeking lifetime disqualification of 16 ex-party MPs who are now contesting by-elections in Punjab on ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) tickets.

The petition filed by the PTI said that the defection of the ex-PTI lawmakers had caused immense loss to the PTI-led majority in the Punjab provincial assembly and subsequently, gave rise to a contentious dispute between Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.

It maintained that the respondents of the petition had voted for Hamza, against party orders to support Elahi, thus, allowing the PTI to become an ostensible minority and allowing Hamza to assert success in a disputed election.

It said that the ECP on May 20 had declared the respondents to be guilty of defection and was declared to no longer be members of the Punjab Assembly, with their seats accordingly held vacant under the referred provision of the Constitution.

According to the petition, the Supreme Court’s verdict of May 17 had confirmed that the defectors’ votes were not to be counted in the assembly, causing a severe setback to Hamza with reference to his election in the provincial assembly of Punjab.

The petition said that in the forthcoming Punjab by-polls with 20 remaining constituencies, the defectors of the PTI have been directly incentivised/ rewarded with party tickets by the PML-N which now claims to hold a majority in Punjab.

“The party tickets by PML-N have been given to these defectors as a reward/ incentive for their participation in a conspiracy which succeeded due to their unholy/ immoral and unlawful defection thus deposed a democratically elected government in Punjab,” it added.

Keeping in view that the defectors had not challenged nor appealed the ECP’s decision rendering them guilty of violating their party affiliation, the PTI pleaded that the respondents be disqualified from partaking in the forthcoming by-polls.

“As per the mandatory requirement of Article 62(1) (f) of the Constitution, the respondents are not eligible to contest or to be elected a member of Punjab Assembly in the scheduled elections to be held on July 17, 2022.

They are most certainly disqualified for the same,” it added. It further said that the ECP had to ensure that people who did not meet the criteria of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution were not allowed to contest elections and that their disqualification was enforced.

The petition prayed that the respondents be forthwith debarred and restrained to participate/ contest the referred by-polls by the ECP and directives be issued to all state functionaries to act in accordance with its orders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022