Raising objections: NADRA official asked to clarify report on PK-8 polls

Over 5,000 counterfoils were submitted with invalid CNIC numbers.

PESHAWAR: A NADRA official was directed to appear before an election tribunal and clarify objections raised over his report which revealed 5,328 counterfoils had invalid CNIC numbers for the constituency of PK-8 during the 2013 general elections.

Judge Shahjee Rehman Khan on Friday ordered NADRA Deputy Director Faheem Ahmad Khan, who prepared the report and submitted it a few days ago, to appear on the next date of hearing. It was revealed in the document that a total of 56,750 votes were verified at 95 polling stations of PK-8.

The election for this constituency was won by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Arbab Akbar Hayat. However, the victory was challenged by Asif Iqbal Daudzai of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl who alleged that rigging took place.



During Friday’s hearing, Hayat’s counsel raised objections over the report which revealed irregularities, saying it was not based on facts. On the other hand, Daudzai’s legal representative had no objections.

The tribunal ultimately ordered the NADRA deputy director to appear in person on the next date of hearing on March 18 and clarify objections raised by the respondents in the case.

NADRA submitted a report on Tuesday stating that 56,750 votes at 95 polling stations were verified. The authority said 50,866 of those were cast with valid CNICs. The report added 22,011 votes were authenticated and 28,855 had poor quality fingerprints due to the failure to utilise proper quality ink. However, the CNIC numbers mentioned on the votes with unclear thumb impressions were valid.

“There were 5,328 used counterfoils that had invalid CNIC numbers while 187 duplicate votes were submitted with used counterfoils. Similarly, 369 voters used counterfoils without fingerprints,” the report states.

In its findings, NADRA stated a large number of fingerprints on used counterfoils could not be processed through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) as they were unclear. The authority proposed to the Election Commission of Pakistan that certain features of the ink used for capturing fingerprints needed to be reassessed so that the ink dries and the fingerprint does not lose its original shape if the paper is folded.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2015.