LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday annulled the parliament-prepared nomination papers, terming that the declaration “does not fulfill the mandatory requirements of Sections 132 and 133 of the [Elections] Act”.
LHC Justice Ayesha A Malik pronounced the reserved verdict on a constitutional petition filed by Advocate Saad Rasool challenging the sections 60, 110 and 137 of the Elections Act.
It was reasoned that the voters should know information of the candidates regarding dual nationality, income tax paid, agriculture tax paid, loan default, government due defaults, criminal record and details of assets and liabilities.
The judge, after annulling the nomination papers prepared by the Parliament, ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to prepare new nomination papers.
The court ordered the ECP to again add the requirements of Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution in the nomination papers. “The ECP is directed to ensure that all mandatory information and declarations are included,” the court said, adding that the commission should fulfill its constitutional to hold just and fair elections.
Earlier, the counsel of the petitioner while presenting his arguments had said that the members of the parliament had no right to make changes in the nomination papers as this is the responsibility of the ECP.
The ECP representative had also told the court that the new nomination papers can be prepared in seven days.
