JI, PTI candidates challenge poll results in election tribunal

Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates of provincial and national assembly constituencies challenged the election results of their respective constituencies before an election tribunal on Tuesday.

JI candidates Nusratullah, Junaid Mukati, Mohammad Akbar, Mohammad Ahmed and Wajihul Hasan challenged the election results of PS-126, PS-104, PS-123, PS-124 and PS-128, while PTI candidate Alamgir Khan disputed the election result of NA-236 Karachi.

The petitioners said they had received the highest numbers of votes according to the Form 45s received from all the polling stations of their respective constituencies, but the returning officers showed the numbers of their votes lower in Form 47s.

The petitioners’ counsel said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had failed to upload the Form 45s of the polling stations of the constituencies in disregard of the legal requirement to do so within 14 days of polling, as stipulated in Section 92(10) of the Elections Act.

The counsel said the Form 45s had been tampered with to provide favour to the respondent candidates, adding that the votes cast in favour of the petitioners were suspiciously transferred in favour of the respondent candidate, effectively revising the electoral income in favour of the respondents.

The petitioners said that the failure of the ECP to detect and rectify these discrepancies in a timely manner raises serious questions about the efficacy of the electoral oversight mechanism in place, calling into question the integrity of the entire electoral process.

They said that the failure of the election officers to conduct the consolidation in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Elections Act and rules has put a mark upon the fairness of the polls conducted in the constituencies.

The court was requested to withdraw and set aside the notifications with regard to declaring the respondent candidates as returned candidates, and to restrain them from attending the session of the provincial and national assemblies until the decision of the petitions.

Senate poll

An appellate tribunal for election to Senate set aside the returning officer’s order with regard to the rejection of the nomination papers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan candidate Mohammad Najeeb Haroon for the upcoming Senate election, and allowed him to contest the poll.

Haroon had challenged the rejection of his nomination papers for the election to the general seat in Senate from Sindh on the grounds that Rs870 million was overdue against the appellant being the director of a construction project and the non-payment of outstanding Rs50 million.

After hearing the arguments of the counsel, the appellate tribunal headed by Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry observed that the liability was accrued less than a year ago, while disqualification is attracted when the loan remains unpaid for over a year.

Besides, it cannot be said that the loan taken out by the company was a loan taken out by the candidate for himself, the tribunal pointed out. The court observed that it would be unsafe to disqualify the appellant under Section 63(1)(o) of the constitution, and set aside the order issued by the relevant RO.