By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan’s poll body Saturday accepted President Pervez Musharraf’s re-election bid amid use of police force to quell hundreds of lawyers and political activists opposing the military ruler’s candidature.
Pakistan Election Commission rejected all objections against Musharraf raised by the opposition.
The nomination papers of four other candidates – including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP’s) Makhdoom Amin Fahim and lawyers’ nominee, former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed – were also accepted.
Two other candidates are Muhammadmian Soomro and Faryal Talpur. Soomro, senate chairman, is Musharraf’s covering candidate while Talpur covers the PPP candidate.
Supreme Court Bar Association president Munir A. Malik, who spearheads the campaign against Musharraf, said that lawyers had filed objections to his candidature but the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) declared the papers in order without listening to them.
The Election Commission will publish the final list of presidential candidates Oct 1.
Riots broke out when the CEC, Qazi Farooq, was scrutinizing presidential nomination papers. Police baton-charged hundreds of lawyers who tried to reach the Election Commission office when Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and several other federal ministers arrived to respond to the objections to Musharraf’s eligibility for running for the presidential vote on Oct 6.
Tear-gas shells were used to disperse the crowd carrying black flags and chanting anti-Musharraf slogans.
Over 30 lawyers and about 15 journalists were injured, while about 200 hundred lawyers and political activists were arrested.
The representatives of Pakistan Peoples Party candidate and lawyers boycotted the proceedings of the CEC and walked out of the room where they were meeting Qazi Farooq.
After their walkout, the CEC declared Musharraf’s nomination papers in order. He said that five nomination papers were found in order.
Malik said that lawyers have filed objections to Musharraf’s candidature for the presidential poll pointing out that Musharraf had not submitted his Bachelor’s degree with the nomination papers. According to the 2002 presidential order only graduates can contest for parliament.
“The same conditions apply for the presidential candidates,” Malik said.
The lawyers have also alleged that Musharraf was a “liar” and hence stood disqualified for the president’s office.
Malik said that Musharraf in a televised addressed had committed that he would doff the army uniform in December 2004 but he later refused and continued to hold two offices.
Six members of a panel of nine senior judges threw out petitions filed by the opposition seeking to obstruct Musharraf’s candidacy on constitutional grounds Friday.
Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 coup, has said he will shed his uniform by November 15 if he receives a further mandate from parliament and the national assemblies.