PESHAWAR: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ordered the forcible ‘ouster’ of federal minister for Kashmir affairs Ali Amin Gandapur from Dera Ismail Khan district during the second phase of local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

ECP deputy director (law) Saima Tariq Janjua sent a letter to the chief secretary, IGP, DI Khan district returning officer, district monitoring officer, and returning officers in this regard, requesting them to implement an ECP order issued on Feb 1 expelling minister Ali Amin Gandapur from the district for repeated violations of the commission’s code of conduct for the province’s local government elections.

According to the ECP’s order, Ali Amin Gandapur should not be allowed to enter any constituency where the second phase of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) local bodies elections, including Dera Ismail Khan, is being held, in order to ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct and implementation of Section 181 of the Local Council Election Act 2017.

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The order said that if the federal minister trespassed, he would be forcibly expelled from the district. According to the notification, the order requires strict adherence. This is not the first time the ECP has taken action against the federal minister during the local body elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Ali Amin Gandapur was fined Rs50,000 by the ECP for violating the Code of Conduct during the first of LB elections in December.

The ECP even warned him that if he violated the Code of Conduct again, he could face disqualification procedures. Sikandar Sultan Raja, the Chief Election Commissioner, has stated that this case would be used as an example to ensure that the elections law and the Code of Conduct be strictly followed.

On January 28, an important meeting of the Election Commission was held on Friday under the chairmanship of Sikandar Sultan Raja, Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan.

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In the meeting, the Election Commission took stern notice of the continuous violation of the code of conduct by Federal Minister Amin Gandapur in the elections to be held in Dera Ismail Khan on February 13, 2022.

The ECP was informed that Omar Amin, brother of the aforesaid minister, is a candidate of Gandapur Tehsil City, Dera Ismail Khan and for the first time on December 5, 2021, the minister violated the Code of Conduct and addressed the public while participating in the election campaign.

According to a press release issued by the ECP the minister announced some development schemes for which he was fined Rs. 50,000 which he paid.

The minister again addressed a public rally in Dera Ismail Khan on December 15, 2021. For taking further action, the District Monitoring Officer (DMO) referred his case to the Election Commission, which ordered that the case be heard and be presented before the Election Commission.