Lack of evidence: SHC suspends thumb impression verification of votes in NA-218

Election tribunal had ordered to verify the thumb impression of voters at 139 polling station of NA-218.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) suspended the order of an election tribunal to verify the thumb impression of voters at 139 polling stations of National Assembly seat, NA-218, won by Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Makhdoom Amin Faheem.

Faheem had challenged the order passed by an election tribunal on March 28 over a petition filed by his rival candidate, Abdul Razak Memon, in SHC.

The PPP leader claimed that he had secured 95,843 votes in the May 11 general election from the NA-218 constituency, based on which the Election Commission of Pakistan had declared him the winner.

Memon, however accused Faheem of rigging and had sought verification of votes cast at the 139 polling stations in the constituency.

Faheem’s counsel, Shazia Hanjrah, argued before the court that the tribunal had ordered voters’ thumb-print verification despite the fact that Memon’s complaint was not supported by any evidence. This, she claimed, was against Section 55 of the Representation of Peoples Act 1974. She pleaded to the court to suspend the tribunal’s order.

The division bench, headed by Chief Justice SHC Maqbool Baqar, suspended the tribunal’s order till May 15 and issued notices to the deputy attorney general, the election tribunal and Abdul Razak Memon to file their comments before the next hearing.