LAHORE: In a blow to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday rejected the nomination papers of former special assistant to the prime minister on food security, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, and his wife for NA-133 (Lahore) by-poll scheduled for Dec 5 over a “technical” glitch.
The nomination papers of Mr Cheema and his wife Musarrat (his covering candidate) were rejected by the returning officer (RO) on the grounds that the “proposers and seconders for the two were not residents of the constituency as required under the election laws”.
The ECP found anomalies during the scrutiny of nomination papers on Saturday after the PML-N’s advocate Naseer Bhutta filed objections to the couple’s candidature.
This led to a debate among the political circles that the PTI candidate deliberately committed the basic mistake to evade the by-poll considering the party’s low popularity graph, especially in Punjab, owing to unbridled inflation. “Mr Cheema had contested the 2018 general elections and he committed such a basic mistake as if he is new in politics. Nobody in the political circles believes he committed this basic mistake inadvertently,” a PTI insider told Dawn.
Mr Cheema, meanwhile, told the media that he would file an appeal in the tribunal against the RO’s decision.
Observers smell a rat over basic mistake committed by ex-adviser for NA-133 by-poll
PTI Senator Ejaz Chaudhry asked the opposition PML-N to withdraw its objection to Mr Cheema’s nomination and fight the party in the polling arena.
Interestingly, Mr Cheema is the only by-poll candidate who has formally launched his election campaign with publicity banners and billboards displayed in the constituency. The slogan, ‘honest leadership’, is printed on the promotional material. “Mr Cheema has launched the campaign to give an impression that he is serious about contesting the by-poll, while on the other hand he and his wife committed a mistake that they may not be able to rectify under the election laws thus virtually giving a walkover to the PML-N in NA-133,” the insider said.
The PML-N also mocked the ruling party, saying its popularity graph had dipped so low that even its candidate could not find a proposer and a seconder in NA-133.
MNAs Saad Rafique and Ali Pervaiz Malik told a presser in Lahore that there was not even a single example in the past where a candidate had got relief from the election tribunal after rejection of his/her nomination papers on the grounds similar to the mistake committed by PTI’s Cheema and his wife.
Rafique also chided the Punjab government for trying to evade the election by requesting the ECP to postpone it because of the law and order situation in the province.
“The PTI’s Punjab government has written a letter to the ECP requesting to put off the NA-133 by-poll in the wake of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protest. The government is running away from the election as it sees its defeat written on the wall,” the PML-N leader said, questioning whether the TLP was protesting in NA-133.
The seat fell vacant after the death of PML-N’s Lahore president Pervaiz Malik. The wife of the deceased, Shaista Pervaiz, is the PML-N’s candidate for the by-poll. She is an MNA on a reserved seat for women.
The PPP has fielded its Lahore chapter president, Aslam Gill, while the proscribed TLP is also contesting the election.
In the 2018 general elections, Pervaiz Malik had defeated PTI Central Punjab President Ejaz Chaudhry with 12,000 votes. Jamshed Iqbal Cheema had contested a National Assembly seat from Mughalpura area of Lahore that year and lost. Mr Cheema has resigned from the post of special assistant to the premier to contest the election.
The NA-133 constituency includes the areas of Liaquatabad, Model Town Extension, Pindi Rajputan, Ismail Nagar, Kot Lakhpat, Chungi Amar Sadhu, Teharta Pind, Bagrian, Green Town, Township, Maryam Colony, Sitara Colony and Farid Colony.
It has over 370,000 registered voters.
Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2021
