PESHAWAR: Federal Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s brother Umar Amin Gandapur has challenged his disqualification to contest the DI Khan Local Government (LG) election in the Islamabad Court (IHC) on Tuesday.
The petitioner contended that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has “failed” in ensuring a fair and “transparent election process.” He took a stand in the petition that according to the law, the candidate should have got the benefit of the doubt as violations of the Code of Conduct cannot be considered without proper investigation.
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Chief Election Commissioner and Regional Election Commission have been made parties in the petition. He asked the court to quash the decision of the Election Commission and allow him to contest the election for the DI Khan’s mayor seat on 13 February.
On 7 February, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday disqualified Umar Amin Gandapur, brother of Federal Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, for violating the election code of conduct. Thus, he will not be able to contest election for the Dera Ismail Khan Mayor seat on 13 February as a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate.
The case was heard by a three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner, Sikandar Sultan Raja. Ali Amin Gandapur had requested the ECP to reconsider the decision of his extradition from the district as he has to attend a family wedding ceremony. The ECP accepted his plea and allowed him to enter Dera Ismail Khan but disqualified his brother.
The federal minister was warned to strictly adhere to the code of conduct. The verdict said that Ali Amin Gandapur should ensure that he does not participate in the election process. “If Ali Amin Gandapur violated the election code of conduct again, he will face strict action,” the ECP warned. A spokesperson of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government had announced to challenge the ECP decision.