``We strongly feel that the election commissioner acted in such a manner which was not expected of him,'' a three-member bench of the apex court headed by chief justice Ajmal Mian yesterday observed rejecting the petition of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) candidate Aftab Shaban Mirani who had pleaded that the election commission's order be declared as valid. Tarar was elected president on December 31 after the Lahore high court suspended the operation of the CEC's order rejecting his nomination papers.

Mirani, who was defence minister during Benazir Bhutto's regime, filed the petition in the apex court against the Lahore high court order. The election of Tarar, a surprise candidate of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) who was personally nominated by premier Nawaz Sharif, becamecontroversial when the then acting CEC, Mukhtar Ahmed Junejo, rejected his nomination papers for allegedly committing contempt of judiciary in an interview with an Urdu magazine. The allegation against Tarar, a former judge of the supreme court and a sitting member of parliament, was brought before the CEC by Mirani.

The supreme court, rejecting Mirani's petition, said any member of parliament was entitled to contest presidential elections till he was not disqualified from the seat under the relevant law.

The presidential election was held following the resignation of Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari after serious differences with the Sharif government in the wake of the judiciary crisis last year.