Forms-45 irrelevant compared to votes, says CJP Qazi Faez Isa

Chief justice rejects recount request in PB-14, upholds PML-N candidate's victory

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has dismissed a petition filed by Ghulam Rasool of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), challenging the election result of PB-14 and accusing returning officers of bias. The court upheld the victory of Mahmood Khan from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, while hearing the case on Thursday, questioned the petitioner's lawyer about the basis of his claim that the election results were manipulated. The lawyer argued that the results did not match the data on Forms-45 and accused the officers of partiality.

In response, Chief Justice Isa emphasised the primacy of votes as the most critical evidence in elections, stating, "Forms-45 are filled out by presiding officers; the real evidence is the votes themselves."

He further suggested that any objections should focus on the recount process, such as whether the ballot boxes were tampered with.

The lawyer persisted in alleging fraud by the presiding officers, claiming he was unfairly labelled as dishonest without evidence. However, the chief justice maintained that decisions are made based on facts and records, not on accusations, and challenged the lawyer to prove the presiding officers' bias by demonstrating any familial ties.

Concluding the hearing, the chief justice asserted, "Even if the presiding officer is an enemy, the decision is determined by the votes. Forms-45 hold no significance in comparison." The court thus rejected the request for a recount in seven of the 96 polling stations, affirming Mahmood Khan's electoral success.

The context of the case relates to allegations from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, accusing the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of tampering with Forms-45 in multiple constituencies following the February 8 elections.

PTI claimed that the ECP had initially released the forms but later altered them on their website, leading to suspicions of electoral malpractice. The party pointed to irregularities across Balochistan, Sindh, and other provinces, including discrepancies where vote counts exceeded the number of registered voters at certain polling stations.