Election tribunal declares Faisal Vawda eligible for contesting Senate election

An election tribunal in Karachi on Tuesday declared PTI candidate Faisal Vawda eligible to contest Senate elections and rejected objections to the approval of his nomination papers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The election tribunal rejected an appeal filed by Qadir Khan Mandokhel against the acceptance of Vawda’s nomination papers.

Earlier, the election tribunal had issued notices to Faisal Vawda and the Election Commission of Pakistan. The petitioner, Qadir Khan Mandokhel had maintained in the appeal that the returning officer refused to hear the objections raised on Vawda's nomination papers. He said that the RO's action was unlawful.

The appeal had urged the tribunal to reject Vawda's nomination papers and declare him ineligible for Senate elections.

The appellant, Qadir Khan Mandokhel, submitted in the petition that the acceptance of the nomination papers of Vawda, who is currently an MNA, by the RO was done without proper appreciation of facts and law.

The appellant submitted that Vawda had misdeclaration in his nomination papers at the time of the 2018 general elections and so he could not be considered to be honest in terms of the Article 62 of the constitution.

The appellant argued that the nomination papers of the PTI leader should not have been entertained due to the reason that Vawda was still a member of the National Assembly and a sitting federal minister, and he could not apply or file his nomination form for the Senate unless he had submitted an application to forego his NA seat and/or his ministerial responsibilities.

The appellant submitted that his complaint against Vawda was pending before the ECP and Islamabad High Court for disqualifying him from the National Assembly as he had filed misdeclarations in his nomination forms for the 2018 general elections with regard to his properties, assets and dual nationality.