After Miftah Ismail's request, ECP withholds results of NA-249 by-poll
May 01, 2021
- PML-N leader Miftah Ismail writes letter to chief election commissioner seeking a vote recount for NA-249.
- In his letter, Ismail writes that presiding officers from 34 polling stations did not WhatsApp results.
- Ismail asks Chief Election Commissioner to stop ECP from finalising results and recount votes in all polling stations of NA-249.
PML-N candidate Miftah Ismail's request for a recount of votes of the April 29 NA-249 by-election in Karachi was accepted on Saturday by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for a hearing.
According to a notification by the ECP, the hearing will be held on May 4, and notices have been sent to all respondents.
In the meanwhile, the ECP has issued a stay order, withholding results of the by-poll.
Ismail had written a letter to the chief election commissioner seeking a vote recount in NA-249.
The PML-N has also requested the ECP to conduct a forensic audit of the votes in the NA-249 constituency.
In his letter, Ismail wrote that presiding officers from 34 polling stations did not WhatsApp the results.
NA-249 by-election: PPP comes out on top after long wait for results
Ismail said that the party "did not receive results from more than 30 polling stations".
"We have serious concerns about the behaviour of some presiding officers," he added.
He claimed that many Form 45s were not signed and that the counting of votes on the Form 45 given to the party is different from the forms issued by the returning officer (RO), which were not provided to them.
The PML-N leader said the RO is not following the law and not directing a recount of votes despite the minor difference in votes.
He further claimed in the letter that the RO did not provide the polling stations wise result summary to the party and that he did not provide a receipt of the time the results were received via WhatsApp.
With these concerns in mind, Ismail asked the CEC to stop the ECP from finalising the results and order a recount of votes in all polling stations of NA-249.
NA-249 by-poll: PML-N, PTI and others reject PPP's victory
PPP leader Saeed Ghani, meanwhile, said the PML-N should apply to the ECP for a vote recount and use its legal right, just as PPP will use its legal right.
Rules for recount
According to Section 95 (5) of the Election Act, 2017, the returning officer shall recount the votes if a candidate challenges the count with a request. For the request to be valid, the margin of victory must be "less than five percent of the total votes polled in the constituency or ten thousand votes, whichever is less".
The math
The Election Act rule allows a recount if the margin of votes between winner and runner-up is less than five percent of total valid votes polled.
Total valid votes cast = 72,740
Five percent of 72,740 = 3,637
Margin of votes between PPP's Abdul Qadir Mandokhel and PML-N's Miftah Ismail: 16,156 - 15,473 = 683
The margin of 683 votes is well within the less-than-five-percent criteria.
NA-249 election results
The PPP secured victory in the NA-249 by-election held on Thursday in the city's District West, with unofficial, provisional results showing a close contest between the PML-N and PPP in the final count.
PPP's Abdul Qadir Mandokhel bagged 16,156 votes to win the seat, followed by PML-N's Miftah Ismail who secured 15,473, unofficial results from polling stations showed.
Read more: PPP held system hostage for sake of one seat: Fawad Chaudhry on NA-249 by-election
Both parties had claimed victory for their candidates mid-way into counting, capturing the attention of audiences awaiting results.
The PML-N pulled no punches in blaming the PPP for attempting to rig the result, saying they would not accept the result without challenging the ECP.
After the final count was announced, the PML-N's Maryam Nawaz said the election had been "stolen" from her party.
