Candidates move PHC against alleged rigging

PESHAWAR: Eight independent candidates belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday approached the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against the alleged alteration of election results.

Former deputy speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mahmood Jan, former provincial ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Kamran Bangash, former district nazim Arbab Asim, former MPA Arbab Jehandad, Ali Zaman Advocate, Malik Shahab Advocate and former MNA Sajid Nawaz have filed separate writ petitions against the alleged change in the election results.

The Election Commission of Pakistan, provincial Election Commissioner and returning officers concerned were made respondents in the petitions filed through Ali Gohar Durrani, Sikandar Hayat Shah and Shah Faisal Utmankhel.

The lawyers representing the petitioners said that a former deputy speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, former ministers and members of the assembly contested the general election 2024 as independent candidates from various constituencies of the province.

They said the mobile phone service was suspended across the country before the voting on the pretext of terrorism and other reasons.The lawyers said that on the day of polling in PK-79, where the Taimur Jhagra was also a candidate, his rival Jalal Khan caused unrest and fired into the air, but no action was taken against him.

They said that later when the counting started, the petitioner was present and the results in Form-45 were in his favour as he had got more than 24,000 votes, but later when the petitioner came to collect the results, he was not allowed to enter the polling station.

He said that according to the results in Form-45, the petitioner had won, but in the results of Form-47 of the Election Commission, the petitioner was shown in second place and his number of votes was reduced, while that of his rival candidate, Jalal Khan, increased.

The petitioner questioned the role of the concerned returning officer and said that the official in question had violated the rules of the Election Commission, raising questions on the transparency of the election.

The petition referred to several judgments of the Supreme Court and prayed the PHC that action of the returning officer and the Form-47 be declared illegal and unconstitutional under Section 92 of the Election Act, while the notification of the final results for the respective constituencies should be stopped.

Later talking to reporters, Taimur Jhagra said, “Our candidates were defeated on eight seats. The results were changed last night. The PTI has swept the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”Mahmood Jan said, “Our mandate has been stolen. The PTI candidates have won. We have results of ROs but then the results were changed.”