The three-judge panel, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, has identified a dozen NA constituencies, where more than 10% extra ballot papers than the required amount were printed PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
The inquiry commission investigating claims of rigging in 2013 general elections has decided to summon returning officers (ROs) of different National Assembly (NA) constituencies to question them on their demand for extra ballot papers.
The three-judge panel, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, has identified a dozen NA constituencies, where more than 10% extra ballot papers than the required amount were printed.
KK Agha, who is assisting the judges in the probe, submitted a list of 12 NA constituencies, most of which are situated in Punjab with most of the winning candidates belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Forwarding the list to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the commission has sought Forms 15, which outline the use of ballot papers at polling stations, and should have been obtained by the polling authority from the ROs concerned.
ECP counsel Salman Akram Raja told the judges that ROs of 260 constituencies had responded to the notice and hopefully the authority would receive 90% of Forms 15. He added, however, only 25 ROs in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had answered out of the 35 NA constituencies in the province.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s task force chairman Ishaq Khan Khakwani termed the decision to summon ROs “a big step”.
According to the list, 16% extra ballot papers were printed while almost 24% of Forms 15 were found missing in NA-21, where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar emerged victorious. In NA-119, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s son Hamza Shahbaz was the winner, but 21% extra ballot papers were found to have been printed for elections. Forms 15 of around 28% polling stations were missing.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq was declared the winner in NA-125, wherein ballot papers in excess of 28% than required were printed and 75% of Forms 15 were found missing. Around 48% of Forms 15 are missing in NA-53, which was won by PTI’s Ghulam Sarwar Khan.
The PML-N won in NA-118, where 17% extra ballot papers were printed and almost 27% Forms 15 are missing. In NA-130 also, 25% extra ballot papers were printed and 70% Forms 15 are missing.
On Monday, CJP Mulk observed that only Forms 15 could provide the information of unused ballot papers. “We are not getting assistance from the treasuries as 40% to 45% forms are missing,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2015.
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