NA-249 by-poll results withheld

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI/LAHORE: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Saturday issued a stay order, withholding the results of NA-249, Karachi by-polls.

The Commission will hear on May 4 PML-N candidate Miftah Ismail's application, seeking a recount. Notices have been sent to all respondents.

He also requested the ECP to conduct a forensic audit of the votes.

Miftah wrote that presiding officers from 34 polling stations did not WhatsApp the results.

He said the party "did not receive results from more than 30 polling stations".

"We have serious concerns about the behaviour of some presiding officers," he added.

He claimed that many Form 45s were not signed and that the counting of votes on Form 45 given to the party was different from the forms issued by the returning officer (RO), which were not provided to them.

The PML-N leader said the RO was not following the law and not directing a recount of votes despite a minor difference in votes.

He further claimed that the RO did not provide the polling station wise result summary to the party and that he did not provide a receipt of the time the results were received via WhatsApp. According to an ECP's order, “Since the consolidation of result has not yet been done and as the margin of victory is less than 5 per cent of the total votes polled in the constituency or 10,000 votes whichever is less in accordance with the provisions of Section 95 (5) of the Act, therefore; the Commission is satisfied that prima facie case exists for intervention, and therefore stays the consolidation process”.

It noted that Miftah Ismail submitted an application under Section 95 (6) of the Elections Act, 2017 on 01.05.2021 before the Commission wherein he had requested for a complete recount of the entire constituency.

The order was issued by two members of the Election Commission, namely Nisar Ahmad Durrani and Shah Muhammad Jatoi.

As per unofficial and unconfirmed results, PPP candidate Qadir Khan Mandokhel had bagged victory, defeating the PML-N contender by 683 votes. Mandokhel secured 16,156 votes against Miftah Ismail's 15,473.

The ECP results showed that the voter turnout remained 21.61% and the total votes cast were 73,471 out of 339,591 votes registered in the area.

Meanwhile, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry hailed the order but said the Commission should reconduct the polls rather than recount the votes.

Interestingly, the proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) stood third as its candidate Allama Nazir Ahmed secured 11,125 votes and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) candidate Mustafa Kamal bagged 9,227 votes, whereas Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which had won the seat in the last 2018 general elections, came fifth in the vote bout.

In a statement, Fawad said the ECP did well by issuing a stay order but he pointed out that the turnout was very low, as a total of 21 percent registered votes were cast and the winning candidate secured less than five per cent of the total votes polled.

The minister opined that such an election would be a joke with democracy.

“Everyone knew the situation of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and all parties have criticized the victory of its candidate. The losing party in every election criticizes the winner, and demands re-election,” the minister said.

Imran Khan, Fawad said, was the only leader who had repeatedly stressed the need to reach consensus on this issue. “We have invited political parties to discuss the issue of electoral reforms and if the opposition is not ready for electoral reforms, it should not cry foul,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, PPP leader Saeed Ghani said the PML-N should apply to the ECP for a vote recount and use its legal right, just as PPP will use its legal right.

Earlier, PMLN Central Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif Saturday said if the victory of NA-249 was transparent then no party should have any problem with the vote recount.

In a statement on Twitter, she said the margin of victory was a few hundred votes, while the rejected votes were more than the winning margin.

She said recounting less than five percent was their legal and constitutional right and requested the chief election commissioner to give this right to her party.

Meanwhile, PMLN president and Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif Saturday demanded vote recount in NA-249, Karachi.

In a statement, he said it was his party’s constitutional right to have a recount adding that Section 95 (5) required that if the margin of votes cast was less than five per cent, a recount should be held.

“Under Section 95 (6) a recount may take place before the aggregate result,” he said, adding, “We hope the chief election commissioner will ensure fulfilment of requirements of Constitution and transparency”.