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Thursday March 28, 2024

Extra ballot printing was administrative not political decision: PML-N lawyer

ISLAMABAD: Lawyer for Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Shahid Hamid said Thursday that printing extra ballot papers in the 2013 general elections was an administrative and not a political decision.

He said that the decision may have been a bad one but it does not prove bad intent, adding that elections cannot be annulled based on an administrative mistake.

Chief

By GEO ENGLISH
July 02, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Lawyer for Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Shahid Hamid said Thursday that printing extra ballot papers in the 2013 general elections was an administrative and not a political decision.

He said that the decision may have been a bad one but it does not prove bad intent, adding that elections cannot be annulled based on an administrative mistake.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nasirul Mulk chaired a session here today of the three-judge inquiry commission investigating allegations of systematic electoral rigging in the 2013 polls. The commission also comprises Justice Ameer Hani and Justice Aijaz Afzal.

This was the 38th session and 85th day of the commission since April 19, during which period it has also held three in-camera sessions.

Completing his arguments today, counsel for the PML-N Shahid Hamid said that 137 petitions were submitted to election tribunals for National Assembly seats out of which 112 were rejected, 15 accepted while 10 are still being heard.

He said that decisions have yet to be given on petitions on NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq's seat and PTI leader Jahangir Tareen's petitions.

Hamid argued that on 79 provincial seats, PTI candidates were ranked either third or further behind in terms of votes. He said that if the PML-N had to, it would have stolen the mandate of the party on second position. He said that there would have been no benefit in stealing the mandate of the thrid or fourth ranked party.

Hamid added the the 49 seats where PML-N and PTI candidates were competing with each other, the PML-N candidates had won with leads of over 20,000 votes. He said that on 577 provincial seats, 270 petitions were rejected, 36 accepted and 17 were still pending.

The PML-N lawyer claimed that the elections were held in a free, fair and transparent manner under the Article 218 of the Constitution.

The next session of the commission will now be held Friday morning. The commission has so far recorded statements from 69 witnesses, and is expected to wrap up its proceedings on Friday after Election Commission lawyer Salman Akran Raja completes his arguments.

The three-judge inquiry commission will issue its report after it wraps up proceedings tomorrow.