ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday rejected a plea of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for a recount of votes in PP-7 (Rawalpindi-II), a constituency it lost to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) by a razor-thin margin of 49 votes.
In its brief ruling, a five-member bench of the commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, declared rigging had not been proven by the petitioner and that the party had also failed to prove the need for a recount.
Retired Col. Shabbir Awan, the PTI candidate, had approached the ECP Monday to seek a recount of votes for the constituency after claiming rigging during polling. Rival candidate, Raja Sagheer Ahmed of the PML-N, also only won by 49 votes, which is well within the margin of error.
The PTI had also alleged that 1,500 votes were rejected and these should be rechecked.
However, Awan’s request had been rejected by the returning officer (RO) after which he approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) to demand a recount. The LHC, subsequently, ordered the ECP to stop the issuance of results for the by-polls and resolve the matter.
In his plea, Awan had questioned why the results for PP-7 were delayed despite all presiding officers reaching the returning officer well before 8:00 pm, when a majority of constituencies’ results had been announced.
