The Sindh High Court issued notices to the federal and Sindh governments, the Election Commission secretary, the provincial election commissioner and the NADRA chairman on Friday, on a constitutional petition seeking fair by-election for the provincial assembly constituency, PS-57, of Badin district.
The petition was filed by former provincial minister Ali Bux Shah alias Papoo Shah. The PS-57 is vacant after the resignation of former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza. The court also directed the petitioner to cite the Mirza’s Husnain Mirza, who is contesting the poll as the Pakistan People’s Party candidate, as a respondent on Saturday (today).
The petitioner, a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Arbab Rahim group, submitted in his petition that pre-poll rigging has started for the by-election as some 19,000 votes have been cancelled on the wishes of the government. He quoted the Section 10 of the Electoral Act 1974, according which in any case of cancellation and admission of new votes, consent may be taken from the people of the constituency, but in Badin neither any consent nor any objection or advice had been taken from the people.
