Tribunal orders re-polling at 16 polling stations of PB-44

QUETTA: The Election Tribunal (ET) of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), led by Justice Abdullah Baloch, has annulled the notification of the victory of Mir Ubaidullah Gorgage from the PB-44 Quetta-VII constituency of the Balochistan Assembly.

The tribunal ordered re-polling at 16 polling stations in the constituency.

This ruling was issued in response to an election petition filed by Haji Atta Muhammad Balochzai, a candidate from the National Party. The petition challenged the victory of Mir Ubaid Gorgage, claiming irregularities in the voting process.

Advocate Nadir Chalgari represented the petitioner, while Advocate Amanullah Kanrani and other lawyers appeared on behalf of Gorgage. During the previous hearing, both the sides completed their arguments.

The petitioners argued before the tribunal that Gorgage secured only 113 votes from 16 specific polling stations, but through fraudulent means, including tampered Form-45s, his vote count was inflated by 6,437 votes, leading to his declared victory. The petitioners also submitted their Form-45s, which showed a significant discrepancy compared to those submitted by the declared winner.

After reviewing the evidence, the tribunal issued its final decision, nullifying the notification of Gorgage’s victory issued on February 22, 2024 (Notification No. 2024-cord(I) No.F.2(12)), and declared the seat vacant. The tribunal also directed the Election Commission to conduct re-polling at the 16 polling stations and to ensure the process is transparent by appointing new returning officers, deputy returning officers, and polling staff.

Additionally, the tribunal instructed that a copy of its decision be forwarded to the Provincial Election Commission and the Election Commission of Pakistan.