Tribunal to announce verdict on Saturday

LAHORE: An election tribunal on Monday reserved verdict on the NA-122 alleged rigging case after the counsel for National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq concluded his arguments. The decision would be announced on Saturday.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan had filed a petition before the election tribunal, challenging the victory of Ayaz Sadiq in 2013 general polls, as he claimed that it was a result of massive rigging.
Barrister Asjad Saeed, the speaker’s counsel, in his final arguments stated that reports of all inspections carried out by local commission and National Database and Regulatory Authority (Nadra) found no rigging element from the election record of the constituency.
To a tribunal’s query about the counterfoils recovered without thumb impressions and identity card numbers of the voters, the counsel said the result of the election would remain same even if the votes cast against those counterfoils were excluded from the total count. He pointed out that the total number of doubtful counterfoils was 1,124 only.
Barrister Saeed said the petitioner (Imran) did not mention his allegations about alleged rigging in NA-122 before the judicial commission formed by the government on the PTI’s demand.
He said the Nadra chairman stated before the commission that the proportion of valid polling in country was 97 per cent. Whereas, he said, the Nadra chairman, when appeared before the tribunal, had maintained that proportion of the valid votes in NA-122 was 99 per cent.
He said the alleged irregularities committed by the election staff could not be attributed to the returned candidate. He said the PTI chief, not his client (speaker), was the beneficiary of the alleged irregularities. If there was no irregularity, Imran would not have any ground for his petition, the counsel added.
Barrister Saeed said the PTI chief accused the presiding officers of corrupt practices but never asked the tribunal to summon them as witness in the case. He said the tribunal could not give any decision against the election officers without hearing them.
The counsel of Imran had already concluded his arguments in the case. The tribunal will announce the verdict in both cases NA-122 and PP-147 on Saturday.