No symbol of any other political party be allotted to such candidate who is member of one party & seeking allocation of symbol of other party: ECP

ISLAMABAD, Jan 15 (SABAH): Election Commission of Pakistan(ECP) has decided that no symbol of any other political party be allotted to such candidate who is member of one political party and seeking allocation of symbol of other political party.

ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (ECP) Sikander Sultan Raja, and comprising members of the commission Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Shah Mehmood Jatoi, Babar Hassan Bharwana, Justice (Retd) Ikram Ullah Khan, have directed all the returning officers of the country, all such applications be rejected, accordingly, and be proceeded in accordance with law, strictly in terms of directions of Apex Court.

According to the copy of the judgment of the ECP bench, numerous applications, received from various persons, that many interested candidates are intending to violate and deceive that Election Commission of Pakistan and in term violate the affidavit already given with their nomination papers under Election Act, 2017.

According to the copy of the judgment, under Section 66 of the Election Act 2017, candidates to file certificate of party affiliation. A party candidate before seeking allotment of the prescribed symbol, shall file a declaration before the retuning officer about his affiliation with a particular political party, if any, along with a certificate from the political party showing that he is that party’s candidate from such constituency.

The Judgment further explained that under section 205 of the Election Act 2017, a member of a political party may be suspended or expelled from the political party’s membership in accordance with the procedure provided in the constitution of that party.

Before making any order of suspension or expulsion of a member from the political party, such member shall be provided with a reasonable opportunity of being heard and of showing cause against the action proposed.

It is clarified that failure to file such affidavit before returning officer would render the nomination papers incomplete and liable to rejection.  If the affidavit or any part of there off is found false then it shall have consequences, as contemplated by the constitution and the Law. Since the affidavit is required to be filed in pursuance of the orders of this court, therefore, if any false statement is made there on, it would also entail such penalty as is of filing a false affidavit before this court.