RO suspended after ‘unknown’ woman notified MNA on JUI-F’s reserved seat

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday suspended a returning officer (RO) after an ‘unknown’ woman was awarded a reserved seat in the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) quota.

The electoral watchdog issued a notification, bearing number F6 of 2024, for the success of Sadaf Ehsan on National Assembly reserved seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).  However, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) distanced itself from the legislator purported to belong to the party.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman called for an investigation into “inclusion of the name of an unknown woman” in the notification for reserved seats.

In a letter to the chief election commissioner, the JUI-F supremo stated: “It is requested that the Commission probe the matter to ascertain whether it occurred by mistake or by deliberation.

Miss Sadaf Ihsan has been “wrongly notified as she does not belong to JUI-F” and her name did not appear on the party’s priority list for reserved seats, Maulana Fazl said.

“Therefore, the notification dated March 4 should be withdrawn as the only rightful candidate is Hina Bibi. “She was on the party’s priority list,” the letter added.

Reacting to the development, the ECP said it has ordered an inquiry into the matter and will hold an open hearing on March 26 to resolve the issue.

The election commission said Sadaf Yasmin was mentioned in a list submitted by the JUI-F for the allocation of reserved women’s seat. However, the ECP said, the woman who submitted nomination papers identified herself as Sadaf Ehsan, hailing from Lakki Marwat.

“The JUI-F stated in the application that its candidate’s name is Sadaf Yasmin who has not submitted nomination papers to the ECP”, the electoral body clarified. It further said that notices have also been issued to all parties to resolve this controversy.

Last week, the ECP decided against allocating reserved seats in the National Assembly and the four provincial legislatures to the Sunni Ittehad Council because it had not submitted any “priority list” to the commission.

According to an ECP notification, eight seats reserved for women in NA from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been given to parties other than the SIC. Four of them went to the PML-N and three to the PPP.