ISLAMABAD, July 6: The ministry of finance diverted funds from public exchequer to run the election campaign of Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz for Attock by-polls , the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) claimed here on Tuesday.

Sources said the opposition planned to raise the serious allegations of election manipulation by the government through use of state apparatus and funds to get Mr Aziz elected as prime minister when the Senate meets here on Wednesday.

When contacted for comments on use of state apparatus for the election campaign of Mr Aziz, leader of Democratic Alliance in the Senate, Senator Raza Rabbani said he would raise the issue of election engineering by the government, use of state funds and machinery for the benefit of Mr Aziz in the Upper House.

According to the directives of the Election Commission for the conduct of the general elections in 2002, the executive authorities in the federation and in the provinces were ordered to ensure that the state resources anywhere in Pakistan were not used for unfair advantage of any political party or candidate during election period.

Senator Rabbani questioned the protocol and use of official vehicles by Mr Aziz during his visit to Attock and the patronisation given by Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervez Elahi and other government functionaries.

Senator Rabbani said the entire exercise of naming Mr Aziz as prime minister-in-waiting was malafide on account of influencing the election staff and an insult to the wisdom of the electorate.

"How can you nominate someone as prime minister-in-waiting when the election results are yet to be known," Mr Rabbani questioned. He said the protocol and security arrangements for Mr Aziz was a violation of election ethics and codes.

Meanwhile, sources in the Election Commission said the nomination papers filed by Mr Aziz and other candidates would be scrutinised in strict accordance with the law. They said the Election Commission as an independent constitutional body would take into consideration the objections filed on the nomination papers of Mr Aziz during the scrutiny process.

However, the Election Commission is yet to clarify if the elections would be held under the Election Order 2002 or under the Constitution of 1973. To make the exercise of October 2002 elections free, fair and transparent, the Election Commission had directed the returning officers not to accept the nomination papers of the ministers unless they had resigned from their office.

However, the returning officer in Attock accepted the nomination papers of Mr Aziz while he still holds the portfolio of finance minister. When questioned about the acceptance of nomination papers of Mr Aziz as a sitting federal minister, sources said the EC had gone back on its declared policy for the transparent conduct of October 2002 elections and the rules of the game have been changed once again.

"Technically, a returning officer cannot reject the nomination papers before the scrutiny process is completed," said a source in the EC. The opposition, the sources said, would file their objections with the Election Commission on the election conduct and campaign for Mr Aziz.