ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is expected to announce on Thursday (today) its decision regarding National Assembly’s constituency NA-75 Daska (Sialkot) — whether to order re-polling or to announce the by-election result.
Earlier on Tuesday, the ECP adjourned the case hearing till Thursday.
A five-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and comprising of all the four ECP Members; Justice Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi (Punjab), Shah Muhammad Jatoi (Sindh), Justice ® Irshad Qaiser (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Nisar Ahmed Durrani (Balochistan) is hearing the petition moved by Nosheen Iftikhar from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), a by-poll candidate for NA-75 who has alleged massive rigging in the poll. At the hearing on Tuesday, Returning Officer for NA-75, Athar Abbasi, who is also District Election Commissioner Narowal, denied that any result related to the by-election was changed and presented his report to the ECP bench regarding by-poll. He recommended re-polling at 14 polling stations.
In an apparent deviation from its previous stance, the PML-N requested the ECP to order re-poll at all the polling stations of NA-75. Earlier, the PML-N alleged rigging in 23 polling stations and repeatedly pressed on ECP to announce the by-election result. Before that, the N-League claimed victory in the by-election with a margin of 3,000 votes.
PML-N’s Nosheen is represented in the ECP by Advocate Salman Akram Raja. Her political rival candidate for NA-75 Ali Asjad Malhi from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is represented by Advocate Ali Bukhari.
The respondent’s counsel in Tuesday hearing sought time till next week to present ‘verified’ documents of Form-45 related to by-election. However, ECP rejected this request and instructed him to submit the relevant documents latest by Wednesday while adjourning the case till Thursday. The ECP said it would decide after examining all the evidence what decision to take regarding by-election. It is expected that the ECP would announce its decision today (Thursday).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021