Vote recount: ECP notifies 26 national, provincial constituencies

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Monday issued a list of 26 national and provincial assembly constituencies where recounting had been approved amid louder voices from the political parties questioning the transparency of polls.

The list includes 15 National Assembly constituencies, two of which will be recounted on the request of former prime ministers Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (NA-57 Rawalpindi-I) and Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani (NA-158 Multan-IV).

Likewise, votes will be recounted in NA-129 (Lahore-VII) where former NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq defeated the PTI's Aleem Khan. Requests by his fellow PML-N ticket-holders Balighur Rehman (NA-170 Bahawalpur-I), Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan (NA-140 Kasur-I), Rana Afzaal Hussain (NA-119 Sheikhupura-I) and Rana Mohammad Afzal (NA-110 Faisalabad-X) have also been accepted.

The requests were approved in constituencies where Form 49, which tabulates consolidated results, including postal ballots, was not received by the Election Commission. Similarly, recounting has also been approved on six Punjab Assembly seats, three Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and two Sindh Assembly seats.

Meanwhile, recounting requests for 32 constituencies, where consolidated results had already been received, were rejected by the Election Commission. These include NA-35 (Bannu), where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan defeated former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Akram Khan Durrani of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.

Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was defeated by PTI’s Sadaqat Abbasi in NA-57 (Murree), whereas in NA-158, former premier and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Yousaf Raza Gilani was defeated by PTI candidate.

In NA-129, PML-N leader and National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq had defeated PTI's Abdul Aleem Khan.

In NA-15, PML-N's Murtaza Javed Abbasi had defeated PTI's Ali Asghar Khan. Likewise, in NA-10, the PML-N had achieved victory whereas in NA-170, PTI candidate had defeated PML-N leader and former minister Balighur Rehman. In NA-140, NA-112, NA-110, NA-159, NA-118, the PTI candidates had emerged victorious against the PML-N.

All earlier requests of recounting had been entertained at the level of returning officers and presiding officers.

These recounts will be done under the supervision of the ECP itself. A presiding officer can order a recount at his/her polling station of his own motion or at the request of a candidate, the candidate's election agent or a polling agent.

According to Article 90 (6) of the Elections Act 2017 of the constitution, the PO can only order a recount once.

The returning officer, on the other hand, can order a recount right up till the process of consolidation starts; that is, right after preliminary results is announced. The returning officer has to be provided with a written request by a candidate or their election agent when the margin of victory is under five per cent of the votes polled or 10,000 votes, whichever is lesser.

Article 95 (5) of Elections Act 2017 says that the returning officer can order a recount on one or more of the polling stations under his watch at the same time, unless he thinks the request is unreasonable. No rules specifying what constitutes an 'unreasonable' request is specified under election laws.

The Election Commission, meanwhile, can order a recount before the completion of consolidation process, which means before the postal ballots have been counted and Form 49s have been filled out. It is also pertinent that the consolidation process has to be completed within five days of the election.