Islamabad High Court summoned election result records from Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP) in response to a plea challenging legality of the elections with allegations that the incumbent chairman of the body manipulated the polls in his favor.
The petitioner alleged that incumbent Chairman of PCATP Arif Changezi stole the elections claiming Changezi has declared himself as a victor in hastily manner. Petitioner also alleged credibility of elections was shattered because of hackers’ attack on the online voting system.
Advocate Supreme Court (ASC) Umer Ijaz Gilani has invoked the IHC jurisdiction in the matter on behalf of Architect Syed Qasim Abbas making 19 respondents including federal government through secretary ministry of housing and works, PCATP’ executive committee and Federal Investigation Agency.
Issuing written order in the matter on Tuesday, single-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri directed PCATP registrar to depute a senior officer well conversant with facts of the case to appear, in person along with relevant record in order to assist the Court on the next date of hearing positively.
During hearing of the matter, ASC Gilani contended that elections of the Committee for the year 2023-25 were held and the result was announced on 08.03.2023 but the election process was finalized through online voting.
He apprised the bench that there is a report and the observation of the company, who was involved in the online voting that there was a hacking attack on the voting system, so the transparency of the elections cannot be guaranteed and elections have not been conducted in a transparent and clean manner.
Seeking court directives to set aside the election results, ASC Gilani further contended that out of five members of the election committee three members have also raised objections regarding transparency of the elections of PCATP.
He said, “Hence on the basis of the report of the IT company as well as observations made by the members of the election committee, the election is liable to be set-aside”. Federal government is one of the respondents in the matter as the petitioner sought the court directives to government to appoint a Commission of Inquiry under Section 32 of the PCATP Ordinance, 1983 for investigating the allegations of rigging through hacking of the electronic voting system and for making recommendations for the solution to his electoral dispute.
Substantiating averments, ASC Gilani requested the court to refer the matter relating to transparency of the election to the Commission of inquiry under Section 32 of the PCATP Ordinance, 1983.
Adjourning the hearing of the case for two weeks, the bench issued directives to PCATP registrar to depute a senior officer to appear in person along with relevant record.
