Zubair Qureshi Islamabad
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has stopped the Returning Officer (RO) on Sunday from issuing the final notification for election results of NA-47 and NA-48 Islamabad after PTI-backed candidates ShoaibShaheen and Ali Bukhari challenged them.
According to details, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan (ASC) Mohammad ShuaibShaheen Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supported candidate from NA-47, Islamabad II and Mohammad Ali Bukhari another PTI-supported candidate from NA-48, Islamabad III have assailed their defeats by the PML-N’s Tariq FazalChaudhry and Independent candidate Raja KhurramShehzad Nawaz, respectively.
Both the candidates filed the petitions in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) a day after the results were handed to them by their ROs claiming they had in fact won the election with heavy margin but the ROs handed them defeat.
However, the registrar office raised the objection that the petitioner should approach the appropriate forum. Subsequently, the candidates filed the application with the ECP.
The commission while taking notice of their petitions, on Saturday summoned the returning officers of the constituencies and on Sunday after hearing the parties, stopped the ROs from issuing the final result of the two constituencies till the ECP judgment.
On Sunday, a four-member bench chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja conducted a hearing over allegations of manipulation in the NA-48 results.
Bukhari arrived at the ECP office and provided the commission with the record of Form 45 for all NA-48 polling stations, along with separate data from Form 45 in data devices.
He is seeking relief under Section 8 of the Election Act, asserting his success according to Form 45. The PTI-affiliated candidate has complained that the RO did not grant access to the final results before the official announcement.
According to Election Act sections 92 and 95, the presence of the candidate is deemed necessary at the time of the announcement of the final results. Therefore, Bukhari has requested a recount according to Form 45.
Ali Bukhari told the ECP that despite their request, the RO issued Form 47. He emphasised that Form 45 was not exclusive to him but was available to all candidates.
