SC overturns LHC's decision to reinstate vote recount in three NA constituencies

The court upheld PML-N candidates' appeals with a 2-1 majority; Justice Aqeel Abbasi dissented from ruling

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The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan has reinstated the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) decision to conduct a vote recount in three National Assembly (NA) constituencies.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and including Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, delivered the ruling on Monday.

The decision pertains to the recount of votes in various polling stations in NA-154, NA-81, and NA-79.

The case arose after Azhar Qayum Nahra of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) challenged the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision to suspend his victory notification from NA-81.

The top court overturned the LHC's previous ruling and restored the electoral watchdogs's directive for a recount.

The court approved the appeals filed by PML-N candidates, with a 2-1 majority ruling. Justice Aqeel Abbasi dissented from the majority decision.

Following the SC's ruling, PML-N members Azhar Qayum Nahra, Abdul Rehman Kanju, and Zulfiqar Ahmed have been reinstated as National Assembly members.

The recount request for the constituencies of NA-154 (Lodhran), NA-81 (Gujranwala), and NA-79 (Gujranwala) had been filed with the top court leading to this decision.

Recounting case

In the general elections, three independent candidates affiliated with PTI—Rana Faraz Noon from NA-154, Bilal Ejaz from NA-81 Gujranwala, and Ehsanullah Wark from NA-79 Gujranwala—were initially declared successful.

However, PML-N candidates Abdul Rehman Kanju, Azhar Qayum Nahra, and Zulfiqar Ahmed requested a recount from the ECP. Following the recount, the ECP declared the PML-N candidates as winners.

The ECP declared Nahra the winner, with a margin of 3,100 votes, though at least 10,000 of Nahra's votes were invalidated during the recount.

The independent candidates challenged the ECP's decision in the LHC, the court annulled the commission's ruling and reinstated the original winners.

PML-N members then appealed the LHC's decision to the SC. The apex court, in a majority decision, reinstated the ECP's ruling and approved the appeals of the PML-N candidates.