All eyes on NA-249 as recount begins

Neither PPP nor PML-N willing to accept other’s victory

KARACHI:

The Election Commission of Pakistan is to begin recounting the votes for the hotly contested seat of the National Assembly seat from Karachi’s NA-249 constituency seat today (Thursday) but no matter which way the decision swings, the recently held by-poll is likely to remain controversial. Neither the Pakistan Peoples Party nor the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which ostensibly bagged the highest and second highest number of votes, respectively, are willing to accept the other’s mandate on the seat.

As it stands, PPP’s Qadir Khan Mandokhel had emerged victorious with 16,156 votes while the runner-up was PML-N’s Miftah Ismail with 15,473 votes.

The latter has accused the PPP-led Sindh government of rigging the by-poll, delaying and manipulating the results and has alleged irregularities during the polling process. That the PML-N lost the by-election by a slim margin of 633 votes further cemented its refusal to accept defeat and it approached the ECP for a recount.

Read: ECP accepts PML-N's plea, orders recounting in NA-249

Background interviews with leaders of both the competing parties reveal that even after the recount, neither party will accept defeat. The runner-up will have the option to approach either the ECP or the court for a repoll in the constituency.

The allegations of rigging, however, have been echoed by other parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Pak Sarzameen Party, as well.

Recounting begins

According to ECP officials, the recounting process will kick off at 9am at the office of the returning officers. They said it would be difficult to complete the process of counting 73,471 votes cast in 276 polling stations of the constituency in a single-day.

“Each and every vote will be re-checked in the presence of all candidates of different political parties and their chief polling agents. We will try to finish the task in a day, but I believe it will take more time,” a senior ECP official told The Express Tribune.

Marred by controversies

“There are no signatures of 167 presiding officers on 45 forms in the final results. Our party agents were not given Form-46. How can we accept the results,” said Ismail, adding that he was winning the by-poll with a lead of 3,000 votes but suddenly the results were suspended paving the way for PPP’s Mandhokel to win.

The PSP’s Mustafa Kamal, who stood at number four in the by-poll, has also claimed his victory and already called for a re-poll in the constituency.

The proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik’s (TLP) candidate had secured the third highest votes while the PTI’s Amjad Afridi had come fifth and the Muttahahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s Muhammad Mursaleen was on number six. They too, however, have cried foul.

As the recounting begins, a senior PML-N leader has said that if the PPP emerges victorious still, his party would approach the ECP for a re-poll.

Reacting to it, the PPP said that they too would be ready for a re-poll.

“The PPP welcomes new precedent set by allowing consistency wide recount without specific ps [polling stations] complaints. Many seats from 2018 fall within 5% threshold & candidates have not been given this chance. Once ECP order is out PPP will consider going to ECP for recounts in all such seats,” PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted [sic] soon after the ECP announced its decision on Ismail’s petition for recount.

PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz publicly welcomed Bilawal’s statement and said that calling for a recount of 2018 general elections would be to her party’s benefit for it was the “prime victim of dhandli [rigging] then. Will enable PML-N to win all seats it lost to dhandli by a margin of few hundred votes.”

Read more: PSP seeks repoll in NA-249

Meanwhile, PPP leaders have maintained that they won the seat through their extensive election campaign and the PML-N lost because it was over confident and under prepared. “This is not the first time but in the past [as well] we have been winning this seat,” said Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani addressing a press conference on Tuesday.

According to the ECP, a total of 339,591 voters are registered from the constituency and a total of 73,471 votes were cast during the by-poll held on April 29. The voter turnout was estimated to be 21 per cent and 731 votes were rejected.

The NA-249 seat was left vacant after PTI’s Faisal Vawda resigned in March 2021 prior to being elected senator.

He had bagged 35,344 votes from the constituency in the 2018 general elections, with PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif trailing closely behind with 34,626 votes - losing by a margin of 723 votes. The MQM-P had cinched 13,534 votes and was followed by the TLP’s 23,981 votes. The PPP’s Mandokhail had stood further behind with 7,236 votes.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2021.