PHC reserves decision on petitions against re-polling in KP

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday reserved decision on 20 writ petitions filed against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s notification about re-polling at 365 polling stations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tomorrow.
The PHC had earlier stayed the re-polling at these polling stations.A two-member bench comprising of Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan reserved the decision on 20 petitions filed against re-polling and rescheduling the election after Eidul Fitr.
The lawyers for the petitioners, including Amjad Ali, Khushdil Khan, Aamir Javed, Naveed Akhtar and others pleaded the cases in the court.Shumail Ahmad Butt, counsel for the ECP, defended the notification and re-polling at the polling stations.
In some of the cases, the winning candidates including Nawaz Ali Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Asif and Matiullah had challenged the re-polling, claiming that they were declared the winners by the returning officers after consolidation of results.
The lawyers submitted that after completion of all the legal process, the district returning officers didn’t have the powers to recommend to the ECP for re-polling as their only duty was to forward the list of returned candidates to the ECP.
Shumail Ahmad Butt submitted before the bench that the ECP had ordered re-polling at these polling stations owing to law and order problems, hindrance and stopping female voters from casting votes in the local government elections held on May 30.
He said the ECP on the recommendations of the district returning officers issued notification of re-polling as they had received reports from the presiding officers.The bench would hear arguments of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Member Provincial Assembly from Mardan, Zahid Durrani today.
He had petitioned the court to direct the ECP to hold fresh polls in the province under the supervision of the Pakistan Army as fair and free local government elections were not possible without the army’s deployment.