ECP to hear PB-21 recount case

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is scheduled to take up on Tuesday (today) a highly unusual electoral dispute involving sweeping changes in vote counts for a Balochistan Assembly constituency after a controversial recount held months after the general elections.

At the centre of the case is PB-21 (Hub), where a recount conducted at 39 polling stations two months after the February 8, 2024 general elections resulted in a dramatic reshuffling of results.

The recount declared PPP's Ali Hassan Zehri the winner, despite the fact that in the original count he had not even been placed as runner-up.

Under the initial results, Balochistan Awami Party's (BAP) Muhammad Saleh Bhootani had secured more than double the votes obtained by Zehri and was declared the winner.

However, following the recount, Bhootani was pushed down to third place. The overall turnout figure also shifted, with the percentage of polled votes rising from 55.15 per cent to 58.48 per cent.

The controversy deepened after a significant alteration in electoral figures was linked to the arrest of five individuals from the strong room where the electoral record had been stored.

The suspects were allegedly found in possession of three plastic bags containing fake ballot papers and were accused of attempting to tamper with ballots on February 11, 2024, only hours after the ECP first ordered a recount at the 39 polling stations.

A closer look at the revised figures revealed striking numerical shifts. The votes originally secured by Bhootani fell from 30,910 to 17,403 - a reduction of 13,507 votes. At the same time, rejected votes increased from 3,648 to 17,155 - an identical rise of 13,507 votes.

Meanwhile, the total number of polled votes climbed from 76,976 to 87,483, reflecting an increase of 10,507 votes.

Of this increase, 9,854 votes were added to Zehri's tally, raising his total from 14,120 to 23,974. Rajab Ali, who had originally been the runner-up, received an additional 441 votes, retaining his second position.

The remaining 212 votes were distributed among other candidates, with no additional votes credited to Bhootani.

Zehri was formally notified as the returned candidate from PB-21 on December 19, 2024. The ECP had initially ordered the recount on February 11, 2024, but the process was marred by violence, arrests and allegations of fake ballots.

After prolonged litigation, the Supreme Court on November 20, 2024 annulled all prior proceedings and directed the ECP to decide the matter afresh.

Despite the SC's directive, the ECP, in a split 3-2 decision on December 16, 2024, upheld the recount and notified Zehri as the winner. This prompted Bhootani to challenge the decision before the Balochistan High Court and subsequently the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).