The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday issued a list of 26 national and provincial assembly constituencies where recounting has been approved. The requests were approved in constituencies where Form-45, which tabulates consolidated results including postal ballots, were not received by the Commission.
The constituencies where recounting has been approved include 15 National Assembly, six Punjab Assembly, three Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and two Sindh Assembly seats. The ballot recounting will be done in constituencies of two ex-premiers, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (NA-57, Rawalpindi) and Yousaf Raza Gilani (NA-158, Multan).
The recounting will also be done in NA-129, a constituency in Lahore from where Speaker Ayaz Sadiq was declared a returned candidate against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Aleem Khan.
The ECP has allowed recounting of ballots in NA-170, Bahawalpur, NA-140, Kasur, NA-119, Sheikhuprua, and NA-110, Faisalabad.
Meanwhile, recounting requests for 32 constituencies where consolidated results had already been received were rejected by the Commission. These include NA-35 (Bannu), where PTI chief Imran Khan defeated former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, who was contesting on a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal ticket.
According to Elections Act 2017, the ECP can order a recount in any constituency of National Assembly and provincial assembly before the completion of consolidation process, which means before the postal ballots have been counted and Form-49 has been filled out.
It should be noted that the consolidation process has to be completed within five days of the election. After the consolidation is complete, the returning officer must provide signed copies of consolidated results (Form-49) to the ECP within 24 hours.