ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani and his son Ali Haider Gilani, Friday, once again challenged the jurisdiction of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in hearing the case, petitioned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), seeking their disqualification from Senate and Punjab Assembly memberships respectively, for alleged foul play in the Senate polls.
The case, pending in ECP for nine months, has been adjourned till coming January 24.
A two-member ECP bench comprising of Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Shah Muhammad Jatoi heard the case.
During the proceedings, Advocate Amir Abbas, the counsel of the two Gilanis, challenged the maintainability of the case and requested the ECP bench that the petitions against his clients be rejected as they were not maintainable.
Jatoi, the Member ECP, remarked that the case would “never end if miscellaneous petitions keep coming.”
The counsel of the defendants argued that maintainability of the case needed to be decided first.
In hearings of this case, the defendant side has challenged the maintainability of the case citing Section 9 (3) of Elections Act 2017.
This section reads, “Notwithstanding the publication of the name of a returned candidate—the commission may exercise the powers conferred on it – before the expiration of sixty days after such publication; and, where the commission does not finally dispose of a case within the said period, the election of the returned candidate shall be deemed to have become final, subject to the decision of an election tribunal on an election petition, if any.”
Member ECP Durrani asked both the parties to submit their replies in the case. “You don’t file replies—and create hurdles in the proceedings—and then ECP is accused of not deciding the case,” he remarked.
The PTI counsel said they never sought adjournment in the case and already submitted the reply. On the other hand, he said, the defendants were yet to file the reply.
The ECP bench summoned everyone who is party in the case on January 24 and adjourned the case till then.
Eyebrows were raised when elder Gilani, the joint candidate of opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), defeated the then Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Islamabad’s General seat in March 3 Senate election.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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