Complying with the complaint, the election commission, nevertheless, ordered a recount which went on for over a week. This time, the vote count for Zaman increased. Omar remained resilient and approached the election tribunal, which sought voting records on August 22. PHOTO: FILE
All three Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers elected from Haripur on May 11 are facing a legal battle to dodge disqualification.
Dr Raja Amer Zaman, scion of the Rajgan family in Khanpur, was elected on a PTI ticket from NA-19 Haripur after defeating Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) candidate and former minister of state for finance Omer Ayub Khan. Omer is the grandson of former military ruler Ayub Khan and was narrowly defeated by Zaman with a margin of just 1,400 votes.
However, Omer challenged the results and alleged rigging, accusing Zaman of conspiring with the election staff at some polling stations. The lawmaker denied the allegations and asked Omer to accept the election results.
Complying with his complaint, the election commission, nevertheless, ordered a recount which went on for over a week. This time, the vote count for Zaman increased. Omar remained resilient and approached the election tribunal, which sought voting records on August 22.
Yusuf Ayub Khan, another PTI legislator and Omar’s cousin, won from PK-50 after defeating former Awami National Party (ANP) MPA and later PML-N candidate Qazi Muhammad Asad. Yusuf also narrowly won with a margin of just over 2,000 votes.
Asad, who defeated Yusuf Ayub in the 2002 general elections and later his brother Arshad Ayub in 2008 polls, challenged Yusuf’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and alleged it was counterfeit.
Asad then approached the election tribunal against Yusuf, who is currently serving as the provincial Minister for Communications & Works. The tribunal has summoned Yusuf to present himself in person on August 27 when the fate of his seat will be decided.
PTI’s Faisal Zaman – also known as ‘Jahazon Wala’ – was elected from PK-52 Haripur after defeating PML-N’s provincial president and former chief minister Pir Sabir Shah. Pir Sabir has also challenged the legitimacy of Zaman’s BA degree on the basis of which he had won the 2002 election on a Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) ticket.
Zaman claimed he obtained his degree from the University of Nigeria, where his company has been doing business for decades. Shah alleged Zaman’s degree was bogus and the election tribunal also termed it suspicious, after which it referred the matter to District and Sessions Judge Haripur for investigation. Proceedings on the case are likely to start within a few weeks.
Defeated candidates appear to be optimistic about winning the appeals in the hope of giving their constituencies another opportunity to vote in the by-polls, which they believe will be held in the upcoming month in Haripur if the lawmakers are disqualified. The challengers have also started campaigning.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2013.
COMMENTS (4)
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What is it with you people to require a college degree to be eligible for elections, does a college degree make you more intelligent or less corrupt than an ordinary person in a village. It seems to me that the most corrupt MNAs and MPs in the last government were possessing some kind of degrees and one even had a fake doctoral law degree from some fictitious college and was a appointed law minister. By the way it is all about IQ, higher the IQ, higher is the intelligence in a person. An uneducated person from some where in Pakistan could be more intelligent than those who posses masters or even PhDs. I wish this stupid law should be repealed and let the people elect the those they think will serve them better and don't under-estimate the common people of Pakistan specially K-P.
Everyone is after PTI and we all know the reason. Why ?. No one expose MQM and PPP law makers. Its just PTI which is wrong. Those parties who are ruling this nation since 30 years are pious and clean. HYPOCRITES !!
So all complaints by PML N members are taken up by the tribunals and the courts. But if PTI asks for just recount on 4 seats, nothing happens.
PTI had peaked during May elections. Now it is the beginning of their end. Now even their previously won seats are changing hands and going to opposite parties. IK should not have promised to change everything in 90 days and accepted people's verdict.