PESHAWAR: A few dozen women voters have moved the Peshawar High Court against the alleged disenfranchisement of women in the PK-95 Lower Dir by-election requesting it to declare the May 7 electoral process null and void and order fresh election there.

Petitioners Shabnam, Shamim Sultan and others filed a petition with the court through lawyer Shahab Khattak alleging that before the recent PK-95 by-elections, the candidates first decided to stop women of the constituency from casting vote and later made special arrangements for the purpose, including creation of an atmosphere of fear and unavailability of women polling staff.

They requested the court to declare the election null and void over grave illegalities and violations of the Constitution as well as provisions of Representation of Peoples Act 1976 and relevant rules, saying women of the constituency were deprived of their right to vote.

They prayed the court to order fresh elections in the constituency and ensure participation of women voters in it.

The respondents in the petition are Election Commission of Pakistan through the chief election commissioner, provincial election commissioner, district returning officer and returning officer of PK-95 Lower Dir, and seven contesting candidates including winner Izazul Mulk of Jamaat-i-Islami and runners-up including Haji Bahadur Khan of Awami National Party.

Women petitioners seek fresh election in PK-95

The petition is filed with the support of civil society organisations, including Aurat Foundation, Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), South Asia Partnership Pakistan and Sungi Foundation.

The petitioners said according to Form No XVII issued by the relevant returning officer on May 9, Izaz secured 20,288 votes and Haji Bahadur Khan 16,439 in the by-election.

They said the consolidated statement furnished by different polling stations showed that the number of votes polled by women voters was zero.

The petitioners said women, who made almost half of the population in the constituency, were deprived of the right to franchise, a fundamental right.

Also in the day, the civil society organisations alleged that all contesting candidates as well as relevant election officers were involved in the illegal act of barring women from casting votes.

Addressing a news conference, representatives of those organisations feared that the practice adopted in Lower Dir would be repeated in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the May 30 local government elections.

Noted among the speakers were Arshad Haroon and Ijaz Khan of SPO, Shabeena Ayaz and Saima Munir of Aurat Foundation, Sikandar Zaman of SAP-Pak and Umar Jawed of Sungi Foundation.

They alleged that the by-election candidates and local administration had entered into verbal agreement before the polling on May 7.

The speakers said a fact-finding team of the civil society had visited the constituency in question and discovered that it was announced there before the by-election that women won’t cast vote.

They called upon the ECP and CEC to declare by-election void saying if that doesn’t happen, the people, who stopped women from casting cote, will feel encouraged to continue with the practice.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2015

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