NA-122 audit: Election tribunal accepts PTI chief's request for thumb verification

PTI had filed an application seeking verification of thumb impressions on ballot counterfoils using NADRA data

LAHORE: Accepting Imran Khan's request, an election tribunal ruled on Wednesday votes in NA-122 constituency should be verified through thumb impressions, Express News reported.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq defeated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan from NA-122 in the May 2013 general elections.

The election tribunal said votes will be verified through thumb impressions using data provided by National Database Registration Authority (NADRA).

The decision came following the hearing of an application filed by the PTI, seeking verification of thumb impressions on ballot counterfoils using NADRA's data.

Counsel for PTI chairman Imran Khan in his application had said some of the ballot papers issued to several polling stations were suspect.

Read: Thumb impressions: Ruling on NA-122 verification on March 4

He said for some polling stations packing invoices were issued twice and serial numbers on the invoices did not match those on Form 15.

However, the  counsel for NA speaker submitted that the PTI was using delaying tactics.

On December 8, 2014, the election tribunal approved the petition of PTI chief Imran Khan for hearing and constituted a commission to probe into the alleged rigging of NA-122 where Ayaz Sadiq bagged 93,389 and Imran Khan 84,517 votes.

Read: NA-122 constituency: Vote recount completes amid conflicting claims by rivals

A petition was moved before the tribunal by the PTI chief in July 2013, alleging massive rigging in the said constituency. The total number of votes polled in NA-122, were 184,151 while in PP-147, these are 74,251 and 109,802 in PP-148.

Earlier, an audit report of the NA-122 constituency revealed 519 discrepancies in the election record, including 23,639 unsigned or unstamped ballot papers and 3,642 invalid ones.

Read: NA-122 audit: 23,639 votes unsigned or unstamped, says report

A local commission was appointed by the Election Tribunal to scrutinise the constituency. The tribunal summoned the local commission and counsels for both parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), by January 17 for arguments.

Further, on January 24, former sessions judge Ghulam Hussain Awan, who was appointed as head of an inquiry committee formed to probe alleged rigging in 2013′s elections, noted certain irregularities in the NA-122 constituency.

Read: Irregularities detected in NA-122 constituency polls: inquiry commission

As per Awan’s statement, recorded in front of Election Tribunal Lahore Judge Kazim Malik, counterfoils of 30,000 ballot papers were not signed, and ballot papers of different colours and sizes and ballot boxes with broken seals were included in the report.