Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi appeared before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday in a case related to alleged threats to polling staff and violations of the code of conduct during the Haripur by-election.
During the proceedings, Afridi’s counsel challenged the maintainability of the petitions filed against him, after which the Commission reserved its decision on the objection.
During the hearing at the ECP head office in Islamabad, PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz’s lawyer, Sajeel Swati, urged the Commission to take action against the chief minister.
In response, Afridi’s counsel argued that if delivering a speech outside the constituency was to be interpreted as pre-poll rigging, then the Commission would be “setting new precedents”.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja noted the arguments presented and assured the parties that the Commission would issue an appropriate order in due course.
The PML-N candidate’s lawyer told the Commission that the KP chief minister had engaged in corrupt practices and that threatening Commission officials warranted separate criminal prosecution.
He said the code of conduct was clear and that Afridi’s conduct attracted action under Section 15, while Article 218(3) of the Constitution empowered the Commission to proceed, along with additional powers under Article 213.
Swati maintained that the case was of a serious nature involving the head of a provincial government and once again requested stern action against Afridi.
CM Afridi’s lawyer, however, argued that the first question was whether the case was even maintainable, adding that the petitions filed by the candidate and the Commission could not be treated jointly.
He said that both the ECP and the candidate currently stood against his client, pointing out that even before this hearing, the District Returning Officer (DRO) had summoned Afridi, whereas petitions submitted by his side against the Punjab chief minister, Maryam Nawaz, and others had never been heard.
At this, the CEC asked whether the Punjab chief minister had delivered any speech inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Afridi’s counsel replied that the Punjab chief minister had made announcements while standing at the boundary of the constituency and that he had submitted a USB containing those speeches.
Afridi’s lawyer further argued that the requests of the PML-N candidate and the ECP could not be treated as identical, noting that the DRO had mentioned a speech delivered in Havelian, Abbottabad.
He said that if speaking outside the constituency amounted to pre-poll rigging, then future speeches by the prime minister or the Punjab chief minister could also be labelled election interference.
The Chief Election Commissioner reiterated that the Commission had taken note of the arguments and would issue an appropriate order, after which the ECP reserved its decision on Afridi’s maintainability plea.
