PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi has moved the Peshawar High Court against a notice issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), accusing him of delivering provocative speeches against government functionaries during the NA-18 Haripur by-election campaign.
Afridi’s petition requests the court to declare the notice issued on November 20 as illegal and restrain the ECP, its secretary, the provincial election commissioner, and relevant district and returning officers from taking any action against him. Filed through advocate Bashir Khan Wazir, the petition contends that the notice violates fundamental rights under Articles 9, 10A, 17, and 25 of the Constitution and is based on hearsay.
Read More: ECP summons Talal over election code violation
The chief minister argued that section 234 of the Elections Act, which covers repeated violations by a candidate, was not applicable. No prior inquiry had been conducted by the district monitoring officer (DMO) in Haripur, and no order was issued before the notice. Afridi stated that his speeches were part of his duties as provincial chief minister to address public grievances, not acts of misconduct.
Meanwhile, NA-18 contesting candidate Shehrnaz Omar Ayub, backed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, also filed a petition against an ECP notice issued to her, claiming it was based on misinformation and issued just three days before the polling scheduled for November 23.
During the ECP hearing, Afridi’s counsel questioned the legal basis of the notice, noting that rallies were held in Havelian and Chamba in Abbottabad district, outside the constituency, while the ECP maintained that both the KP CM and the contesting candidate were responsible for intimidation of election staff. The case was adjourned for further hearing on November 25.
Read More: ECP Code Violation: PK-5 candidate fined Rs 20,000