LHC withholds notification for Imran’s victory in NA-131 Lahore

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday withheld the notification of PTI chief Imran Khan’s victory from NA-131 Lahore, accepting PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique’s plea for vote recount in the constituency.

Earlier today, the court reserved the verdict on Rafique’s plea over the seat that was won by Imran.

Speaking to the media at Lahore High Court, Rafique alleged that the recently-held polls were “selection, not election.”

The PML-N leader also criticised Imran’s statements over vote recount, saying the latter would support recounting before the media, but was speaking against it in the court.

Rafique had challenged Imran’s victory in the closely contested NA-131 Lahore-9 constituency. The former minister of railways alleged that the presiding officer deliberately rejected hundreds of votes.

In his petition, the PML-N leader demanded a recount of the votes from the said constituency. 

Until the votes are recounted, the results from the constituency should not be announced, he requested.

Prior to the election, Rafique had said that Imran would lose badly against him in Lahore.

“The well-educated, sincere and patriotic voters are with us. The people of the constituency will not vote for a political stranger,” he had said.

He had mocked PTI for failing to gather even 200 people at the initiation of its election campaign.

“Imran’s political campaign inauguration failed not only in Lahore, but in Mianwali and Islamabad as well,” Rafique had said.