LAHORE: On Tuesday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected a number of applications that contested the victory of Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, Mian Nawaz Sharif, and other candidates as non-maintainable. In the requests, the court was asked to order the pertinent authorities to guarantee that their appearance is a result of the electoral consolidation process.
Justice Ali Baqar Najafi stated during the hearing that he had already made a decision on similar petitions and that writ petitions were not appropriate for granting the requested relief. He went on to say that the petitioners ought to get in touch with the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP).
As she oversaw a number of petitions, Justice Najafi emphasised that the court was not allowed to get involved in any issues pertaining to the electoral process, including the consolidation process. He did, however, make it clear that the petitioners may turn to the court if their complaints are not resolved by the ECP or electoral tribunals.
In NA-130, the petitioner’s attorney said that Nawaz of the PML-N was declared the victor, despite the fact that Form 45 unmistakably indicated the victory of Dr. Yasmeen Rashid, an independent candidate supported by the PTI.
Ishtiaq Ahmed Samsialvi, an independent candidate running in NA-130, filed the appeal claiming he was denied access to the RO office and thus denied the opportunity to observe the consolidation of election results. When Dr. Yasmeen Rashid, the candidate sponsored by the PTI, was leading the poll, he and other individuals were asked to vacate the RO office. Nevertheless, Form 47 was on show the next day, announcing Nawaz as the victor. He asked the judge to throw out Form 47 and order the RO to carry out the consolidation procedure in front of him.
Another petitioner, Muhammad Khan Madni, contended that his client had won the provincial assembly seat based on Form PP-147. Nevertheless, Hamza Shehbaz, the PMLN candidate, was proclaimed the victor and was not allowed to participate in the consolidation of the results.
On February 12, Justice Najafi dismissed eighteen writ petitions as non-maintainable in previous hearings on similar pleas.
These were filed by independent candidates sponsored by the PTI who came in second and third, contesting the win of PMLN candidates Maryam Nawaz Sharif and IPP candidates Aleem Khan, Aun Chaudhary, and others. In order to deny Returning Officers (ROs) the opportunity to observe the consolidation of election results, the petitioners asked the courts to invalidate Form-47, which was produced by ROs when they were not present.
The PTI-backed candidates’ appeals against the victories of Maryam Nawaz, Khawaja Asif, Ata Ullah Tarar, and other candidates—including Aleem Khan and Aun Chaudhry of the IPP—were rejected by the LHC judge. In their complaints, the PTI-backed candidates claimed that police officers had physically prevented them from seeing the process of consolidating the results, acting at the discretion of Republican Organisers (ROs) from various seats.
They believed that being kicked out of the ROs’ offices violated their right to a fair trial and the opportunity to observe the finalisation of the election results. As required under the Election Act of 2017 and the Election Rules of 2017, the petitioners asked the courts to annul Form 47 that had been completed while they were away and to further order the ROs to carry out the consolidation procedure in the presence of the petitioners and their representatives.
