ECP accepts PML-N plea, orders recount in Karachi by-election
Ismail’s lawyer argues before the ECP that the signatures of presiding officers of 167 polling stations were missing from Form-45 while the PML-N polling agents were also not given Form-46
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday ordered recounting of votes cast in the by-election for NA-249 Karachi seat on April 29, on the request of a losing candidate.
The recount will be done in the office of the returning officer ( RO) on May 6 in the presence of all the candidates or their representatives.
Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz ( PML-N) nominee Mitah Ismail, who lost to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) contestant Qadir Mandokhel with a narrow margin, had approached the ECP, seeking vote recount.
Ismail’s lawyer, Sultan Akram Raja, argued before the ECP that the signatures of presiding officers of 167 polling stations were missing from Form-45 while the PML-N polling agents were also not given Form-46.
He contended that Form-46 was just as important as Form-45 according to the Justice Nasirul Mulk Commission’s report.
“Presiding officers are bound to provide Form45 and Form-46 to polling agents. Signatures were absent from the Form-45 given by the presiding officers,” he said and also asked the
ECP to investigate “irregularities” in the by-poll.
Raja said the PML-N would submit a separate application for re-polling in the NA-249 constituency. “Recounting of votes in the NA-249 by-election is our first demand. If we are not satisfied, then we can also make further demands.”
He said that actions taken in 180 polling stations ater the voting had ended were not in accordance with the law, stressing that recounting was not enough and the ECP would have to “intervene.”
“The absence of verified Form-45 and Form46 has made the entire election suspicious.”
PPP lawyer Lateef Khosa argued that the PML-N did not raise any objection on any form during the polling on April 29.
“It is not enough to say there were irregularities. It needs to be identified where and what irregularities occurred. The RO is not bound to accept applications for recounting.”
ECP member Altaf Qureshi observed that the case was against the RO’S orders and not about polling stations to which Khosa replied that Ismail had submited a “general” application to the RO.
“There is a tradition of not accepting defeat in our country,” he added. “It seems Mitah Ismail had already prepared an application which stated that the manner in which the results were announced was suspicious.”
He further said that it was the RO’S job to release the results, questioning whether he was waiting for a stay order from the ECP.
“PML-N objected to Form-45 at 2:30am in the night ater being defeated,” Khosa said.
Qureshi questioned whether the PPP candidate in the by-election was satisfied with the RO’S order. Khosa contended that the RO had termed PML-N’S application as “inappropriate,” adding that the ECP could not order recounting in the constituency because of a “lack of concrete reasons.”
The lawyer for the Pak Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) said that there was “no benefit” of a recount for the people of the constituency. At this, Qureshi said that if the PSP was serious, it would have submited an application to the ECP. “We sent several emails to the ECP but received no answer,” the lawyer replied.
Qureshi assured him the Election Commission would hear the PSP’S application when it was received.
The chief election commissioner emphasised that “no irregularity of any kind would be tolerated.”
A representative for the banned Tehrei-eLabbaik Pakistan (TLP) — which came third in the by-election — also appeared in front of the ECP during the hearing. He informed the ECP that polling agents of the party were “thrown out” of the polling stations and presented a ballot paper which he claimed had been found in the street.
Lawyer for the Pakistan Tehrik-e-insaf (PTI), which stood at fith place in the by-election, said that polling agents were not given more than 70 Form-45. “It is possible that your polling agents did not sign Form-45?” the ECP member from Sindh questioned. To this, the PTI lawyer replied that it was not possible that more than 70 people did not sign the form. “Not even one Form-45 was given to polling agents,” he argued.