Waheeda Shah Case: Court to hear ECP’s version today

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court will today hear the arguments of the election commission officer in the Waheeda Shah disqualification case. Shah’s counsel Haider Imam Rizvi advocate concluded his arguments on Wednesday before Justices Munib Akhtar and Aftab Ahmed Gorar.

He submitted that once the polling officer signs the “Form 16”, which is the unofficial result or the votes secured by the candidate, the elections become a closed chapter.

“The ECP’s role is eliminated at the very moment and hence all proceedings later are void and illegal,” he contended. As the ECP’s counsel was not present in the court, the judges put off further proceedings till Thursday morning. Waheeda Shah, a ticket holder of Pakistan Peoples Party, had won a seat in Hyderabad’s PS-53 constituency. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified her from the provincial assembly, after scenes of her slapping a woman polling officer were telecasted on different television channels. The petitioner had challenged the commission’s order in the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2012.