Election Tribunal Case: PTI's appeal for one-week respite rejected

Islamabad: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) request for a week's respite in the Islamabad Election Tribunal change case.

In the Election Commission, a hearing was held on the applications of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates for the change of election tribunal for three constituencies of Islamabad.

PTI candidate Shoaib Shaheen requested a week. The case is going on in the High Court and notices have been served. The Chief ECP rejected the request saying that it would be possible only if the court had stopped the proceedings.

The lawyer of PML-N Tariq Fazal Chaudhary said that the ECP has the authority to change the tribunal and it is not a judicial authority. ECP is a constitutional body and can also change the tribunal based on its will and application. We had said the same in the previous hearing that we do not have confidence in the Tribunal Judge as he did not follow the procedure.

Member Election Commission Nisar Durrani said that you are saying that not following the procedure is a solid reason for changing the tribunal.

The lawyer replied: “Yes, it is the same. The tribunal must act according to the Election Act. Until the tribunal implements sections 142 to 146 of the Election Act, it cannot call us”.

He said that according to the judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, lack of confidence is enough to change the tribunal. The procedure protection cannot be eliminated by justifying the speedy trial. The party calls the judge bias.

Shoaib Shaheen said in response, “Don't blame us. Tell us if the judge is biased or not”.

Later, the Election Commission rejected PTI's request for a week's respite in the Islamabad Election Tribunal change case and adjourned the hearing.