Terms Electoral Commission notice “malicious, illegal”; requests that it be declared invalid
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has approached the Peshawar High Court challenging a notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan alleging that it violated the election code of conduct ahead of the upcoming Haripur by-election.
The petition, filed through advocate Bashir Wazir, names the ECP, the provincial election commission, the district election commissioner, the district monitoring officer and contesting candidates as respondents. In the writ petition, the Prime Minister claimed that a false, politically motivated case had been registered against him earlier and that his party leaders had also been subjected to harassment.
He stated that after assuming office he visited various areas, announced development projects in public interest and listened to queries of locals. Recently he toured the Hazara division, specifically Abbottabad, but the visit was wrongly linked to Haripur.
According to the petition, a statement attributed to the chief minister was exaggerated and misrepresented, giving the impression that he was trying to influence the election process, violated election rules and exerted pressure on the government machinery.
Based on the opinion, the ECP issued a notice to him on November 20 and summoned him on November 21. The petition argued that Afridi as chief minister is bound to exercise his constitutional powers. It further stated that the ECP issued the notice without receiving any report from the District Monitoring Officer, which is a mandatory procedural requirement.
The petition noted that neither the DMO submitted any report nor lodged a complaint, but the ECP continued to issue a notice, which the petitioner claimed demonstrates “malafide intentions” and an attempt to target a particular political party. Afridi requested the court to declare the ECP notification null and void.
The ECP holds a hearing on violations of the code of conduct
The defense counsel for the KP CM called code of conduct violation notices issued by the ECP ‘unwarranted’ and argued that Afridi never addressed the rally in Haripur. The ECP conducted a hearing earlier on Friday to take action against public office holders for alleged violations of the electoral code of conduct ahead of the upcoming by-elections scheduled for November 23. A notice was issued on Thursday to Afridi regarding alleged threats and violations.
A four-member bench, headed by the Chief Election Commissioner, conducted the hearing. Afridi and opposition candidate from Haripur constituency, Shehrnaz Ayub did not turn up; however, their legal representatives attended. Lawyer Ali Bukhari, representing Afridi, argued that the notices were unwarranted.
“The chief minister was addressing rallies in Chamba and Haveliyan, which are on the border of the constituency,” the ECP secretary said. The commission has also highlighted that candidates from NA-18 Haripur, including Shahrnaz Omar Ayub, bear the responsibility of code violations in their constituencies. “The KP chief minister intimidated the polling staff. The candidate from the constituency, Shehrnaz Omar Ayub, is equally responsible,” the ECP secretary added.
The defense counsel argued that the Chief Minister had addressed a meeting in Abbottabad, not Haripur. “Is this notice against Sohail Afridi justified?” Bukhari asked. “It is a fact that the Chief Minister addressed the gathering at Haveliyaan,” the commissioner said.
Bukhari alleged that members of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have also violated the code of conduct. “Punjab CM has given Rs 3 billion to a hospital in the adjoining constituency of Haripur,” Bukhari said. “Isn’t this a contradiction in terms?” he asked. The ECP, however, maintained that public office holders are prohibited from participating in election campaigns under the code of conduct and must avoid actions that may intimidate voters or election officials.
