PHC stops RO from declaring PK-115 vote recount result

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday stopped the Returning Officer (RO) from declaring the result of recounting of the votes in PK-115 former Frontier Regions (FRs) till August 1.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim also put on notice the Election Commission of Pakistan, directing it to submit comments in the petition filed against recounting of votes in PK-115 Ex-FRs.

The court issued the restraining order in a writ petition filed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl returned candidate Muhammad Shoaib in the July 20, general election on PK-115.

During the arguments, Ghulam Mohiyuddin Malik, submitted that as per the unofficial result (Form-47) issued by the ECP, JUI-F’s Muhammad Shoaib was declared successful candidate on PK-115 Ex-Frontier FRs by obtaining 18, 102 votes, while PTI Abidur Rehman remained runner-up by getting 18,028 votes.

He stated that the PTI candidate then applied to the Returning Officer (RO) under Section 95 (5) of the Election Act, 2017 for a recount of votes as the JUI-F candidate had won the election only by 74 votes.

The lawyer submitted that the RO then ordered a recounting of votes in the constituency against which the returned candidate being unsatisfied with the recounting order approached the ECP under Section 95 (6) of Election Act, for direction to the respondents to recount all ballot papers in PK-115. He said the Election Commissioner on July 23 passed an order, directing the RO that the ballot papers of only 16 polling stations shall be recounted and recounting process completed expeditiously.

Interestingly, the lawyer said, a separate order was written on the second day of first order on July 24 by Member-II (Mrs Irshad Qaiser) rejecting application of the petitioner for the re-counting of 14 polling stations, but this has not been approved signed by the chairman and members of the ECP, which shows that the application of the petitioner for a recount of 14 polling stations was neither placed before the ECP, nor it was heard by the commission and it was rejected only by one member of the commission, lacking majority as required. Citing the grounds for the petition, the lawyer submitted that the impugned two orders of the ECP are illegal and without lawful authority and thus be declared void.

It was also pointed out before the court that the order of directing recounting 16 polling stations votes was not a case of the parties before the ECP and the Election Commissioner on its own directed and limited the scope of the same.

“The order of RO for recounting of all votes of the polling stations though was arbitrary, passed without giving the right of audience and hearing to the petitioner, but the order of the Election Commission directing the counting of limited polling stations favouring the PTI failed candidate, which is illegal and discriminatory,” the petitioner claimed in the petition.

Furthermore, the second-order of one member on the next day is also unlawful and without lawful authority sans majority and as such is per-incuriam (lack of care).

The JUI-F candidate prayed in the petition that impugned orders passed on July 23, and 24 were illegal and arbitrary and thus be declared void.

He prayed that the impugned orders of the RO, as well as the ECP, were not based for proper reasons and correct exposition of law.

The petitioner prayed before the court that if the process of recounting was not suspended, the petitioner will suffer an irreparable loss and thus the recounting be suspended till decision on the petition.