ECP dismisses plea to remove Maryam as PML-N vice president – Pakistan

The Electoral Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday rejected a petition to dismiss PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz as vice president of the party and ruled that he was eligible to take office.

A three-member bank headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), retired judge Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan, eliminated a petition filed by PTI legislators, including Farrukh Habib, Maleeka Bokhari, Kanwal Shauzab and Javeria Zafar, against his appointment.

The ECP ruled that Maryam, who is currently in the physical preventive detention of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), cannot be appointed interim president of the party and must not accept any functional position of the party.

In response to the PCE's decision, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that PTI had come to the PCE with the request for "cheap advertising."

"Maryam Nawaz does not require any position or designation to help the people of Pakistan," he said, adding: "Maryam's services for the restoration of the Constitution and the law are not hidden from anyone. […] she stayed for five years and worked in health and education along with [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharif. "

The party spokesman said the current government does "little things" as the request for which it received a response from today's election commission.

Meanwhile, Maryam's lawyer, Barrister Zafarullah, said there was no such condition in Pakistani law that would restrict an individual from occupying a party position.

While talking to the media, she said Maryam will continue to be vice president of PML-N since the ECP had eliminated the PTI request.

PTI reaction

Maleeka Bokhari, a PTI MNA and one of the petitioners, reacting to the verdict stated that the ruling party was of the opinion that the ECP's decision is "contrary" to the Supreme Court ruling in the Zulfiqar Bhutta case.

In one of a series of tweets, he said the PTI reserved the right to challenge the decision of the PCE "before the competent forum."

"The ECP trial today, as reported in the media, confirms that Ms. Maryam Nawaz, after being convicted, can only hold a position in her party that is not functional. According to the ECP, the charge Vice President at PML-N is a non-functional publication.

"This means that Maryam Nawaz, as vice president of PML-N, cannot maintain any type of jalsa or liaison with any other political party or enter into any & # 39; function & # 39; regarding her party," Bokhari wrote.

Petition procedure

In their petition, the PTI legislators argued that Maryam could not maintain any party position since she was convicted by a court of justice on July 6, 2018, in a corruption case (Avenfield reference), presented by the NAB .

The ECP had reserved its trial in the case on Monday for the second time. He had reserved it for the first time on August 1 and had established August 27 as the date for his pronouncement. But in an unusual movement, the commission postponed the trial, asking the lawyer of both parties to help him determine whether the prohibition of a convict from occupying the position of president of the political party also applies to the vice president, in light of a sentence Recent Supreme Court.

On Monday, PTI's lawyer, Hassan Maan, argued that Section 203 of the Elections Law should be read with Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. Referring to the case of Jehangir Tareen, he said that a PTI legislator in Punjab lost his position in the party on the basis of the same principle that prevented disqualified leaders from occupying any office position.

Meanwhile, the PML-N lawyer said some political parties were headed by their presidents, while others were headed by presidents or emirs. He said that people with authority mattered, noting that the vice presidents had no power.

He said that the Supreme Court ruling also specifically mentioned party bosses and asked the ECP to dismiss the petition presented by PTI legislators.

Petition against the appointment of Maryam

Following the appointment of Maryam as Vice President of PML-N on May 3, PTI legislators challenged her appointment at the ECP on the grounds that she could not hold any office charge, since she was convicted by a court of law on July 6, 2018, in a case of corruption. .

The PML-N leader, on the other hand, had asked the PCE to dismiss the statement, arguing that there was no restriction in the Constitution and the Electoral Law on a convicted person who would occupy the vice presidency of a party.

In his trial on the reference of the Avenfield apartments, an accountability court had sentenced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to a rigorous prison of 10 years, Maryam to seven years and her husband, removed Captain Mohammad Safdar to a year .

The defendants were also disqualified to challenge the elections or hold a public office for 10 years from the date they are released after serving their sentence and will not be allowed to request or receive or grant or allow any financial facility in form of a loan for 10 years from the date of his sentence within the meaning of Section 15 of the National Responsibility Ordinance, 1999.

On September 19 of last year, the Islamabad High Court suspended the decision of the NAB court in the Avenfield reference.

Subsequently, NAB challenged the suspension, but the Supreme Court dismissed his statement.