The Election Tribunal of the Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the returning officer and others on a petition filed by Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf leader and candidate of National Assembly constituency NA-238 East against the election results of polling in the constituency.
PTI-backed candidate Haleem Adil Sheikh submitted in the petition that he had secured highest 84,049 votes from the NA-238 East Karachi as per Form 45 received from all polling stations; however, his votes were shown reduced to 36,885 votes in Form 47 by the returning officer.
He said Muttahida Qaumi Movement candidate Sadiq Iftikhar who secured 10,302 votes as per Form 45 was shown to have polled the highest number of 54,885 votes by the RO. The petitioner’s counsel Ali Tahir submitted that the ECP had failed to upload Form 45 for the 292 polling stations of the constituency disregarding the legal requirement to do so within 14 days of polling as stipulated in Section 92(10) of the Election Act.
The counsel submitted that Forms 45 have been tampered with in favour of the respondent candidate and the votes cast in favour of the petitioner were superstitiously transferred in favour of the MQM candidate, effectively revising the electoral outcome in favour of the respondent.
He said the failure of the ECP to detect and rectify these discrepancies in a timely manner raise serious questions about the efficacy of the electoral oversight mechanism in place, also calling into question the integrity of the entire electoral process.
The counsel submitted that the uploading of these manipulated forms sparked a wave of outrage on various social media platforms with individuals swiftly denouncing the evident rigging; however, in response to the mounting pressure and public scrutiny the ECP opted to remove Form 45 from its website, effectively removing the entire folder pertaining to NA-238.
He further said the failure of election officers to conduct the consolidation in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Election Act and rules has a put a question mark upon the fairness of the polls conducted in the constituency.
The court was requested to withdraw and set aside the notification with regard to declaring the respondent Sadiq Iftikhar as returned candidate and restrain him from attending sessions of the National Assembly till a decision on the petition.
The counsel also filed an application for calling the entire record of Form 45 of the constituency. The ET headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha, after the preliminary hearing of the petition, issued notices to the ECP, RO and others and called their comments on April 19. The tribunal also directed the ECP and the provincial election commissioner to file comments on an application with regard to the calling of the entire original record of Form 45 by March 29.
It directed the respondents to assist the tribunal on the maintainability of the petition and in particular in terms of Election Act 2017 any superior courts authorities, especially in respect of compliance of provisions under the election law, which can lead to summarily dismissal of the petition by this tribunal under sections 142,143 and 144 of the act.
It directed the advocate general of Sindh to either appear in person or depute any additional AG well conversant with the election laws in order to assist the court on the maintainability of the petition, and if the petition found to be maintainable the law officer shall remain attached to this petition until its finalization.
The tribunal also observed that SHC had directed the ECP to determine the grievance of the petition which was decided through a short order and detailed order is yet to be issued by the ECP. It directed the counsel to submit a detailed order of the ECP on the next date of hearing.
Separately, the Sindh High Court directed the ECP and others on a petition of the PTI-backed candidate against the denial of certified copies of Form 45 by the returning officer of NA-236. Petitioner Alamgir Khan submitted that he was not being provided certified copies of Form 45 for the NA-236 in violation of the election laws. He said Forms 45 have not been uploaded by the ECP on its website, which was endorsed by the provincial law officer.
The provincial law officer submitted that Forms 45 of the constituency NA-236 have been uploaded and sought time to file comments. The court directed the ECP and others to file comments on the petition by April 3 and explain reasons for not uploading Form 45 on its website on the next date of hearing.
Haleem’s media talk
Talking to media persons outside the SHC, Sheikh expressed the hope that the courts will serve justice to his party on the issue of alleged rigging in the general elections 2024, adds our correspondent.
He said a series of injustices against the PTI began since the party’s federal government was toppled and continued unabated. “The humiliation suffered by the Pakistan Democratic Movement [PDM] godfather, United States diplomat Donald Lu, yesterday was witnessed globally. It is now evident that those who plotted against Imran Khan have been uncovered and shamed,” he remarked.
Sheikh commended the Pakistanis living in the US who supported the PTI’s cause. “Even Lu had to acknowledge the electoral rigging. The global community has witnessed the extent of rigging in Pakistan's 2024 elections.”
Sheikh said the current government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan would prove to be their political grave.
