ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ordered recounting of votes in three National Assembly constituencies, overturning the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict and restoring the decision of the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Accepting the appeals of the PML-N leaders for recounting of votes in NA-79 Gujranwala, NA-81 Gujranwala and NA-154 Lodhran constituencies on Monday, the apex court in its 2-1 majority order cleared the way for recounting of votes.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan ruled in favour of the recounting while Justice Aqeel Abbasi did not agree with them.
The case arose after Azhar Qayum Nahra of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had challenged the LHC’s decision to suspend his victory notification from NA-81.
Initially, PTI-backed independent candidate Chaudhry Bilal was declared a winner by a margin of 7,791 votes in the general elections 2024. However, after a recount requested by Nahra, the ECP had declared Nahra the returned candidate, with a margin of 3,100 votes.
During the recount, at least 10,000 of Nahra’s votes were declared cancelled. Bilal then challenged the ECP’s decision in the LHC, which on April 4, set aside the notification of Azhar Nahra’s victory from from NA-81.
The court had also ruled that the ECP could not entertain complaints against election disputes once election tribunals begin their work.
