Post-election saga: Stay against Shirazi’s victory extended till June 4

PPP’s Sassui Palijo has accused Ameer Haider Shah Shirazi of rigging elections in PS-85.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court further barred the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) till June 4 on Friday from notifying Ameer Haider Shah Shirazi as a returned candidate from PS-85.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sassui Palijo, who had lost the Sindh Assembly seat to her rival candidate, had approached the court to restrain the election body from notifying Ameer Shirazi as the winner till her plea for summary inquiry into alleged rigging and irregularities in the elections was decided.

In her plea, Palijo had accused Shirazi of rigging the elections by committing various violations of election laws. She claimed that a complaint was registered with the ECP but apprehended that the body might notify Shirazi as a successful candidate.

Earlier, the SHC had barred the ECP from notifying Shirazi’s victory till Palijo’s plea against rigging was decided. On Friday, the court extended the stay order.

PS-128 election results

The court issued notice to the ECP on two other petitions as well, filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Muttahida Qaumi Movement candidates against and in favor of re-polling on PS-128 seat in Karachi.

Sultan Ghouri of PML-N, who lost the PS-128 seat to MQM’s Waqar Hussain Shah, accused the rival of rigging the election. He said that the voter turnout in the constituency was recorded at only 26 per cent on May 11 as the bomb blast panicked voters.



He also accused Shah of indulging in irregularities to win the election. Ghouri asked the court to order ECP to verify all votes through thumb impression verification by the National Database and Registration Authority.

Shah, on the other hand, asked the court to restrain the election commission from holding re-election on the six polling stations of the constituency, which, he alleged, was ordered on baseless allegations of rigging.

After preliminary hearing, the bench headed by Justice Faisal Arab issued notice to the ECP secretary, the concerned district returning officer and returning officer for June 4 to file their comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.