Elected unopposed: Verdict reserved on plea against Hassaan

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court (LHC) reserved its judgement on Thursday on a petition challenging the participation of Khwaja Ahmed Hassaan in local government elections.

Justice Shahid Karim was hearing a petition by Aziz Masood.

His lawyer Sheraz Zaka submitted that Hassaan had been declared elected unopposed chairman from Union Council 107. He said Hassaan had held the offices of Lahore Development Authority vice chairman and Lahore Waste Management Company director. He said Section 27 of the Local Government Act, 2013, stated that a person serving a statutory body controlled by the provincial government was ineligible to contest local government elections within two years of his job. He said the returning officer concerned had accepted Hassaan’s nomination papers without deciding on the objection.

Counsel for Hassaan told the court the issue had not been raised before the returning officer during the scrutiny of nomination papers. He said the petition was, therefore, not maintainable. A deputy attorney general said the returning officer was bound under law to hold summary proceedings on the objections raised against any candidate.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2015.