Polling in NA-110: SC seeks ECP report on missing election record

NADRA asked to reply objections raised by petitioner

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court sought on Wednesday a detailed report from the secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the missing election record of 29 polling stations of NA-110, from where Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif won the seat in the last general election.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, also directed the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to submit a reply on objections raised by the petitioner’s lawyer over its forensic report on the verification of votes through thumb impressions.

During the hearing, the chief justice said that the missing record made the entire election process doubtful.



The CJ also noted that there could be a possibility that the record of this constituency was mixed up with data of another constituency. He also noted that the election day was not peaceful “like this court” as one returning officer had termed the election day a minor ‘day of judgment’.

The bench is hearing PTI candidate Usman Dar’s appeal against the rejection of his petition by the Election Tribunal.

Secretary ECP Babar Yaqoob Fateh Malik informed the bench that District Returning Officer (DRO) received the election material of NA-110, adding that according to their information record of only five polling stations was missing. He said that after consulting with the DRO concerned, he would submit a report before the apex court.

Usman Dar’s counsel Babar Awan said that except for counterfoils, the election record of five polling stations was missing.

The chief justice also asked the counsel that if he doubted NADRA’s report, if so “we would discard it”.

But the lawyer said he trusted the report, but it was his legal right to raise questions.

The court later gave one week to the ECP for finding out about the election record and adjourned the hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2016.