ROs ordered to address grievances of losing candidates

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday ordered the returning officers (ROs) concerned to compile the election results in line with Sections 92 and 95 of the Election Act.

Issuing the three-page verdict, the court ordered the ROs to address reservations of the losing candidates by the law. According to the verdict, all the petitioners had similar grievances, complaining about discrepancies in Form-45 and Form-47.

The court ordered the election commission to conduct scrutiny and tally Form-45 and Form-47, which were in the possession of the electoral watchdog, with the ones given to the candidates.

On Thursday, the PHC sent the writ petitions filed by the losing candidates of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to ROs.

A two-member PHC bench consisting of Justice Shakil Ahmad and Justice Waqar Ahmad heard the petitions filed by the PTI-backed candidates who had lost the national and provincial assembly seats in the February 8 general election.

They had alleged that the results of some constituencies in Peshawar, Kohat, and Bannu were changed.

The bench sent the writ applications to the relevant ROs. It asked them to listen to the applicants as per the law if they had not issued the final results of the candidates.

The court asked the applicants to contact the relevant forum if the ROs had issued the final results.