Notice To ECP On Plea Against Mayor Election
The Lahore High Court has issued a notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on an application for staying election of the Lahore Mayor till decision on a pending petition against qualification of Khwaja Ahmad Hassaan, PML-N’s likely candidate for the slot.
Zubair Niazi of PTI had challenged the unopposed victory of Mr Hassaan as chairman from UC-107 of Lahore.
Petitioner’s counsel Sheraz Zaka requested the court to stay the election of the mayor as the matter relating to qualification of Mr Hassaan was sub judice.
Justice Shahid Karim said the stay application was maintainable and issued a notice to the ECP on it for March 31.
In the main petition, Niazi contended that Hassaan before being elected unopposed chairman had held different positions with several public sector departments including Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC).
He said section 27 of Local Government Act 2013 says a person who had held an office of a statutory body controlled by a provincial government was not eligible to contest election of local bodies before two years.
Therefore, the respondent chairman, who was a likely Mayor of Lahore, failed to meet the two-year bar, he said and asked the court to disqualify him.
This news was previously published in DAWN and it is being republished here with permission.
