LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday overturned the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to retain Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as the president of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).
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Hearing the petition of Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, LHC judge Justice Asim Hafeez after dismissing the ECP’s decision, ordered the electoral watchdog to re-decide after a review within 10 days.
During the course of proceedings to day, LHC Judge Justice Asim Hafeez remarked “the destruction of Pakistan is due to the biased election commission. The job of the election commission is to make recommendations on the petition according to the law. Why does the election commission look biased?”
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Addressing the ECP lawyer, Justice Asim Hafeez further remarked “You are a lawyer for the election commission. Do not give the impression that you are a lawyer for any political party.”
Aamir Saeed Raan, the lawyer for Chaudhary Wajahat, appeared in the court
“The general council has the authority to amend the constitution of the PML-Q. The party’s general council amended the constitution,” he argued before the court.
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The Petition:
On February 21 last, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had allowed Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to lead the PML-Q. [But] he had been removed as the party head. The PML-Q general council made Wajahat Hussain the president of the party on January 26 last. The ECP unjustifiably rejected the certificate of intra-party elections.
The ECP made a person the president of the party who did not even have the support of the members. The ECP’s decision is a violation of Section 208 of the Elections Act 2017. Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain was made the party president through an executive order.
The decision of making Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain the president of the PML-Q should be annulled. The ECP should be ordered to update the amendment to the constitution of the PML-Q on the website, and the ECP should also be ordered to declare the petitioner as the new PML-Q president.
