KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday dismissed for being misconceived two petitions filed by candidates of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, in which the party had challenged the provisional results of the Jan 15 local government elections.

A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed observed that the petitioners were at liberty to raise their grievances before the Election Commission of Pakistan and to pursue an appropriate remedy before election tribunals to be constituted in the matter if ECP was not addressing the same.

It further said that the petitions were found to be misconceived as the underlying allegations of improprieties in the polls raised questions of the fact that cannot be properly determined in the present proceedings and an alternative remedy was otherwise envisaged under the elections before the tribunal.

The petitioners submitted that they had contested the elections as candidates of PTI for posts of chairman from union committees 4 and 8 of Baldia Town.

They contended that PPP candidates along with their supporters and presiding officers rigged the elections in both UCs and one of the petitioners was leading as per results of Form-XI issued by the presiding officers, but the returning officer had illegally changed the results and declared the PPP candidate winner.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2023