SHC seeks ECP's reply on transgender people's plea for contesting polls

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to come up with suggestions on whether transgender people could contest the upcoming general elections.

This direction came on a petition filed by the  Sindh Transgenders Network, a group working for the welfare of the transgender community, seeking the inclusion of a separate column in the commission’s nomination forms for transgender people to enable them to contest elections.

Sapna Rajput, the president of the group, petitioned the high court, submitting that the ECP’s nomination forms for contesting candidates contained columns identifying only two genders.

The transgender people could not take part in elections as there was no column for them in the forms, the petitioner said, adding that they are equal citizens of the country, therefore, they should be allowed to contest elections.

The petitioner said debarring them from participating in elections would be discrimination against the community.

The court, thus, was pleaded to order the Commission to include a separate column for them so that they could contest the coming general elections.

A similar case is also pending in the Peshawar High Court, where the petitioner Transaction Alliance has pleaded that the electoral body be directed to allow transgender people to exercise their right to vote and take part in the upcoming general elections like other citizens of the country.

During the last hearing, a two-judge bench of the high court, comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Ghazanfar Ali Khan, issued notice to the ECP to submit comments on the petition.

Farzana Jan, president of Transaction Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and general secretary Arzu through their lawyer Gul Rehman Mohmand has filed the petition.