However, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi challenged rejection of his appeals by appellate tribunal in LHC         People line up as election officials check their ballot papers during voting in the general election at a polling station in Lahore. — AFP/File

LAHORE: The third phase of General Election 2024 was completed on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, with the election appellate tribunals giving their decisions against rejection or acceptance of candidates nomination papers by the returning officers.

On Thursday (today), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would publish the revised and final lists of candidates and the contesting candidates would be allotted electoral symbols on January 13.

However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi challenged the rejection of his appeals by the appellate tribunal in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday.

On the last day of the third phase, different election appellate tribunals cleared the way for various political leaders, including the Sharif family and PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mehmoodur Rasheed, to contest the February 8 elections.

The tribunal gave a clean chit to the Sharif family to contest the general election after dismissing appeals filed by the PTI challenging the acceptance of nomination papers of Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz. Nawaz Sharif was allowed to contest from NA-130, Shehbaz Sharif from NA-132 and Maryam Nawaz from NA-119.

The appellant raised various questions before the election tribunal, seeking clarification on whether the nomination papers of an individual disqualified for a lifetime by the Supreme Court could be accepted. The appellant had also contested the RO’s decision to accept the nomination papers of Shehbaz Sharif, asserting that he had been identified as the mastermind behind the alleged criminal attack on the Supreme Court on Nov 28, 1997. The appellant contested the RO’s decision to accept the nomination papers of Maryam Nawaz, arguing that she did not meet the criteria of being ‘Sadiq and Ameen’ (truthful and trustworthy).

However, the tribunals dismissed the petitions against the ROs’ decisions to accept these nominations.

Another tribunal also gave a clean chit to PTI’s Dr Yasmin Rashid from NA-130, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed from PP-169 and other candidates from different constituencies by dismissing the ROs’ decisions wherein their nomination papers had been rejected.

However, the tribunals upheld the ROs’ decisions against PTI leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, his wife Qaisara Elahi and their son Moonis Elahi for NA-64, NA-69, PP-32, and PP-34, respectively.

Meanwhile, PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi challenged the rejection of his appeals in the Lahore High Court. The nomination papers of Qureshi were rejected from PP-218, NA-150 and NA-151. A three-member full bench of LHC, presided over by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, would hear the case.

Meanwhile, an election appellate tribunal of Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared a eunuch Nayab Ali eligible to contest the election. Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir announced the reserved judgment whereby the appeals against approval of nomination papers of eunuch Nayab had been dismissed besides upholding RO’s decision. One Nadimul Zafar, a voter from Multan and a eunuch had challenged the acceptance of Nayab’s nomination papers. Nayab is contesting election from NA-46 and NA-47 Islamabad as an independent candidate. She had participated in general election 2018 from Okara.

Meanwhile, the election appellate tribunals in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa decided 116 appeals against rejection or acceptance of nomination papers for the Nation Assembly.

According to a spokesman for the provincial election commission, the tribunal disposed of 116 appeals for the National Assembly constituencies across the province.

The tribunal decided 102 appeals against the rejection of nomination papers for 45 general seats of the National Assembly. Similarly, 213 appeals against rejection of nomination papers for 115 general seats of the provincial assembly were heard. Fourteen appeals were filed against approved nomination papers for the provincial assembly. An election tribunal in Sukkur Wednesday approved nomination papers of a candidate of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) for NA-209 Sanghar, whose nomination papers had been rejected by the RO on the pretext of fake degree.

The tribunal also restored the nomination papers of an independent candidate Deedar Jatoi for NA-200 Sukkur and Mobin Jatoi for PS-24 Sukkur.

The tribunal also restored the nomination papers of GDA candidate of NA-202 and PS-26 Khairpur, Haji Imam Bakhsh Phulpoto.