An election tribunal Tuesday dismissed election petition filed by PTI candidate Abdul Aleem Khan alleging irregularities and pre-poll rigging in the NA-122 (Lahore) by-election, for being non-maintainable.
The tribunal comprising Judge Muhammad Rasheed Qamar announced the verdict on Monday in open court. The tribunal had reserved the verdict on maintainability of the election petition after hearing arguments on January 22.
Earlier, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq’s counsel Khawaja Haris questioning maintainability of the plea submitted that electoral lists could not be challenged before election tribunal as the issue did not fall under its jurisdiction.
He said that the oath commissioner’s stamp and date was missing in the election petition and as per Supreme Court judgment, such a petition was not maintainable.
He further said that the allegations levelled in the petition were baseless. He pleaded the court to dismiss the petition being non-maintainable.
However, Aleem Khan’s counsel Anees Hashmi opposed the request and submitted that all legal requirements were fulfilled and election tribunal was empowered to hear the matter as per Representation of Peoples Act.
It is pertinent to mention that Aleem Khan had lost the October 11 by-election to Ayaz Sadiq. The petitioner through his petition alleged that at least 30,000 votes had been cancelled and shifted from the NA-122 constituency before the by-poll. He contended that this act of the commission was amounted to pre-poll rigging. The petitioner requested the tribunal to set aside the result of the by-election on the grounds of alleged rigging.
