Results vs rigging: Ayaz Palijo challenges election results

Palijo lost the seat to Pakistan Peoples Party’s Jam Khan Shoro by a margin of around 11,000 votes.

HYDERABAD: Sindhi nationalist leader Ayaz Palijo, who was a candidate for PS-47 Hyderabad, has challenged the election results in the Sindh High Court, pleading for re-election in the constituency.

Palijo, who was supported by the 10-party Alliance, lost the seat to Pakistan Peoples Party’s Jam Khan Shoro by a margin of around 11,000 votes.

Palijo maintained in his petition that blatant rigging, harassment of his polling agents and partisanship of the presiding staff helped Shoro secure majority votes. “Our polling agents were either not allowed to sit in the polling stations or were harassed.” His lawyer, KB Rind, claimed that they have submitted proofs of rigging in the court. Palijo has cited the Election Commission of Pakistan, Sindh Election Commission, district election commissioner, returning officer, regional director of NADRA and Shoro as respondents in the case.

The bench of Justice Habibur Rehman and Justice Aqeel Abbassi issued notices to the respondents on Thursday to submit their reply on May 28.

Earlier this week, another candidate from Hyderabad’s PS-50 constituency, which has been officially won by former Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, filed a petition in the SHC. Khawand Bux Jahejo, a former PPP leader who contested the polls against the party’s candidate, also levelled similar charges in his petition and asked for re-election in the constituency under the army’s supervision.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2013.