The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday sent out a notice summoning Nawab Muhammad Taimur Talpur in connection with his admission that a member of the parliament had sold their vote to the Pakistan People Party (PPP) in the Senate elections earlier this year.

During a fiery speech made on the floor of the Sindh Assembly on Thursday, Talpur had said: "The member who sold the vote to PPP during the Senate election is still sitting in the assembly."

Summoning Talpur to appear before the commission on October 4, the ECP's order said that a notice had been taken over the allegations levelled by him.

ECP and horse-trading allegations

Several political parties had accused each other of resorting to horse-trading and purchasing votes in the March 3 Senate polls and had called for an investigation into the matter by the ECP and courts.

The parties had called for action against those who had indulged in such a practice which, according to them, has brought a bad name to the politicians and democratic institutions.

Almost all these parties had pointed fingers at PPP, alleging that the party at the behest of Asif Zardari resorted to “worst kind” of horse-trading, especially in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies.

While the ECP had summoned members of various political parties who had made such allegations, interestingly, no one from the PPP was called in to be part of the investigation.

Political and legal experts, however, believe that the ECP exercise of summoning politicians will bear no fruit as it will be difficult for the accusers to prove their allegations, particularly regarding the purchase of votes.