Electoral fraud: Tribunal dismisses petition against CM

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad election tribunal dismissed on Wednesday a petition against the victory of Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah from the PS-29 constituency in Khairpur. The tribunal, headed by Justice Ashfaq Baloch, found the evidence for the alleged electoral fraud unsubstantial. The petition was filed by former provincial chief minister Syed Ghaus Ali Shah, who had contested the May 2013 polls on the ticket of Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N). Ghaus later quit the PML-N, accusing it of overlooking Sindh. His petition, which was filed before the Sukkur election tribunal and later transferred to Karachi before Hyderabad on the request of the returned candidate, alleged massive rigging. The tribunal judge had reserved the judgment after the hearing on May 6 and did not announce it until Wednesday because the petitioner had obtained a stay order from the Sindh High Court against the transfer to Hyderabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2015.