received from the Returning Officers (ROs) as well as the forms retrieved from the polling bags.
He further submitted that there was a hundred percent voting turnout at one polling station of NA-119. Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, however, while going through the record, corrected the learned counsel that there were 603 registered voters at this polling station while 561 votes were polled there.
Pirzada contended that there was no check and monitoring over the election staff and everybody was using his own will. He said that the Returning Officers (ROs), while recording their statements before the commission, gave their own story while the staff of the Election Commission of Pakistan had a different version.
Some of the Returning Officers testified before the commission that they had received directions for printing extra ballot papers while some said that they had themselves determined the printing of extra ballot papers.
“The Returning Officers as well as the District Election Commission took their own decisions,” Pirzada said adding that no record was available with the Election Commission on nine million ballot papers.
Preserving the extra ballot papers is the biggest failure on the part of the Election Commission of Pakistan and as a failed to perform its constitutional obligation during the electionsThe learned counsel also gave an example of irregularities made in NA-154 Lodhran saying that if extra ballot papers to be required for printing as per formula, it was not more than 23,000 however, he said that here 74,000 extra ballot papers were printed.
He contended that in KP, Sindh and Balochistan, the Election Commission determined the printing of extra ballot papers however, in Punjab Returning Officers were assigned the responsibility for the determination of printing of extra ballot papers.
He further submitted that 70, 000 elections staff was not imparted proper training for exercising their duties during the time of elections adding that according to the statement recorded by Moeen Bano, the Additional Session Judge and RO at the time of 2013 elections the Presiding Officers (POs) were not properly trained for filling Forms 15 saying that she did the same work.
He further said that the ballot paper book of the nearest constituency had been produced before the learned Commission by anchorperson Hamid Mir. The learned counsel submitted that due to the incompetency of the Election Commission of Pakistan, crisis emerged after every general election. Meanwhile, the Inquiry Commission adjourned the hearing till today (Wednesday) wherein Abdul Hafiz Pirzada will conclude his arguments.