PHC halts notification of declaring winner

ABBOTABAD: A court in Abbottabad has stopped the apex poll body from issuing a formal notification declaring a candidate of the PTI as the returned candidate from the PK-38 constituency after his rival challenged the election results.

Muhammad Arshad Awan of the PML-N, a candidate for the provincial assembly constituency of PK-38 Abbottabad-III, was contesting the seat against 18 other candidates.



In the July 25 elections, he had secured 26,437 votes. Haji Qalandar Lodhi of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had won the constituency after securing 29,474 votes. Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian’s (PPPP) Saleem Shah was third with 13,468 votes.

Dissatisfied with the results, Awan filed a petition before the Peshawar High Court’s circuit bench in Abbottabad against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and stopping it from notifying Lodhi as the returned candidate from the constituency and thus confirming his election.