Abid Sher challenges PTI candidate’s victory in NA-108

LAHORE: Former state minister of PML-N Abid Sher Ali has filed an election petition in the Lahore High Court challenging victory of Farrukh Habib of PTI in July 25 general election from NA-108, Faisalabad.

Ali had obtained 1,11,5 29 votes whereas returned candidate got 1,12,740 votes while 5,177 votes were rejected.

As the margin of lead was less than 5 per cent of the total votes polled, therefore, the petitioner promptly moved an application to the returning officer for recount of rejected votes and all the valid votes, states the petition filed through Advocate Mobeenuddin Qazi. The counsel pleaded that when recounting of about 80 polling stations out of 394 polling stations was completed and the recounting process still continued, the petitioner submitted an application to the RO for restoring/declaring the votes as valid which have been illegally declared as invalid on the ground of absence of signatures of the presiding officers, despite bearing official stamp on the back, or on the ground of affixing the stamps in front of the name and election symbol of the petitioner. However, he said, the RO arbitrarily rejected the application.

He submitted that several grave irregularities were found during the process of recounting of votes strengthening the allegations of the petitioner about connivance and collusion of the polling staff with the returned candidate.

However, he said, the RO at the behest of the respondent returned candidate abruptly stopped further recounting and issued notice to the parties for final consolidation on the same day. The lawyer contended that the petitioner requested the RO to continue with the recounting as serious illegalities and irregularities surfaced but to no avail. The counsel argued that the election of the respondent returned candidate has been procured and induced by corrupt and illegal practice, therefore, the election is void and of no legal effect.