The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday disqualified the mayor of Rawalpindi, Sardar Naseem, from his post after finding him guilty of malpractice during the local bodies (LB) election for reserved seats last year.
A five-member commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner, retired justice Sardar Raza, announced the decision taken on the basis of two separate petitions against Naseem.
In their petitions, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Lubna Iqbal and PML-N' sTahira Perveen alleged that Naseem had used his influence to rig LB polls for reserved seats prior to being elected city mayor.
The petitioners maintained that Naseem had, during polls on Nov 15, 2016, entered a polling station and used his influence to tilt the polling process in favour of a particular candidate.
The petitioners also produced visual evidence in support of their claims.
The accused, through his lawyer, confessed to entering the polling station on that date, but maintained that he left shortly after a presiding officer objected to his presence. Naseem categorically denied any wrongdoing.
The commission in its short order accepted the petitioners' arguments and deseated Naseem from his post as Rawalpindi mayor.
