LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday restrained the returning officer (RO) of NA-128 from notifying the result of the constituency compiled on the basis of Form-47.

The court passed this order on a petition filed by a PTI-backed candidate Salman Akram Raja from the constituency against Awn Chaudhry of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP).

The court directed the RO to conduct the process of consolidation of results afresh in the presence of petitioner and his representatives.

The petitioner’s counsel stated that the petitioner was not allowed to sit in the process of vote count. He said the polling agent of the petitioner was not handed over Form 45 by the polling staff. The court expressed concern when a lawyer for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said the RO was not in contact as his mobile phone was switched off.

The ECP counsel also opposed the petition and said the petitioner should approach the commission first if he had any complaint about the counting process. He said every losing candidate opted to move courts on baseless grounds.

The petitioner’s counsel stated that his concern was not about the counting of votes but the compilation of the result. He said the result of only 13 polling stations was compiled in the presence of petitioner.

The court after hearing the petitioner’s counsel at length sought a written reply from the ECP by February 12. The court also issued a notice to Awn Chaudhry, the other contender in the constituency.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024