No recount in NA-43: PHC restrains ECP from notifying PTI candidate

Polling body, RO issued notices by PHC to submit their responses today

PESHAWAR: The apex poll body was on Tuesday restricted from issuing final notifications of the returned candidates for NA-43 Jamrud until the reservations of the runner-up candidate are resolved.

The directions were issued by a two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Justice Roohul Amin and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, as it heard a petition filed by the runner-up candidate Shahjee Gul Afridi.

Noorul Haq Qadri of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) had been declared as the winner of NA-43 (Tribal Area-IV) by securing 33,243 votes while Afridi, who contested as an independent candidate, was second with 30,151 votes.

Submitting through his lawyer Qazi Muhammad Anwar, Afridi contended that on July 27 — two days after the elections — the returning officer of the constituency (RO) had accepted his application and directed a re-counting the votes polled in 182 polling stations of NA-43.

The counsel for the petitioner told the bench that the re-counting was supposed to have been held the following day, July 28, at 8am. However, the RO suddenly cancelled the re-count on the pretext of some threats to peace in the constituency.

The counsel for the petitioner further argued that under the law, the RO did not have the authority to rescind the re-counting order.

Hence, the attorney of the petitioner said that the impugned order of rescinding the recount was legally void in the eyes of the law.

He further pointed out that the petitioner has also raised voice before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) through a petition filed under section 95 (6) of the Election Act 2017 but so far no response has been received from the commission.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2018.