Unverified Karachi votes: Supreme Court reserves verdict
ECP should seek assistance from the Rangers and the Army, says CJ.
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court of Pakistan reserved its verdict in the case of incorrect registration of voters in Karachi on Wednesday, reported Express News.
The case was taken up by the apex court when Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) filed applications, claiming that around 300,000 votes of people in Karachi were registered outside the city.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) lawyer Farogh Naseem opposed the application and said that the process of voter verification in Karachi has been finalised and the Supreme Court should not interfere unless the voters complain themselves.
The lawyer representing Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also opposed the idea of verifying the voters again.
The ECP also submitted a report to the Supreme Court about the transfer of votes of people living in Karachi to other districts.
The ECP informed the court that around 32,281 votes could not be verified.
During today’s hearing, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked the commission to get all the votes verified by going door to door.
He also said that the ECP should seek assistance from the Rangers and the Army for this purpose.
Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim had expressed concern over errors in the list of voters from Karachi and ordered installation of CCTV at “sensitive” polling stations.
Ebrahim had said that the errors in the voters list should be corrected. He had added that over one million youth have become eligible to vote and their details are currently being verified by Nadra.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan reserved its verdict in the case of incorrect registration of voters in Karachi on Wednesday, reported Express News.
The case was taken up by the apex court when Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) filed applications, claiming that around 300,000 votes of people in Karachi were registered outside the city.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) lawyer Farogh Naseem opposed the application and said that the process of voter verification in Karachi has been finalised and the Supreme Court should not interfere unless the voters complain themselves.
The lawyer representing Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also opposed the idea of verifying the voters again.
The ECP also submitted a report to the Supreme Court about the transfer of votes of people living in Karachi to other districts.
The ECP informed the court that around 32,281 votes could not be verified.
During today’s hearing, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked the commission to get all the votes verified by going door to door.
He also said that the ECP should seek assistance from the Rangers and the Army for this purpose.
Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim had expressed concern over errors in the list of voters from Karachi and ordered installation of CCTV at “sensitive” polling stations.
Ebrahim had said that the errors in the voters list should be corrected. He had added that over one million youth have become eligible to vote and their details are currently being verified by Nadra.