ECP rejects Nawaz’s plea against NA-15 results

The Election Commission has dismissed PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif’s application pertaining to NA-15.

Announcing a verdict that had been previously deferred, the Commission instructed the petitioner to take the matter to the Election Tribunal.

Furthermore, the Commission has commanded the Returning Officer to ascertain the definitive outcome within a span of three days.

It is to be noted that the Election Commission had postponed its decision on Nawaz Sharif’s appeal concerning NA-15 just a day earlier.

Nawaz Sharif’s legal representative, Jahangir Jadoon, implored the commission, claiming the NA-15 election did not adhere to constitutional norms, the election act, or rules, as the voting bags and form 45 were allegedly tampered with. Moreover, he pointed out the adversity of snow and broken communication lines, arguing these served to invalidate the constituency’s election results.

Attorney Jahangir Jadoon stated that we requested the Returning Officer’s report on February 15. We received a 650-page RO report and will now base our case on this document. The petitioner received over 82,000 votes, while the opponent secured more than 105,000 votes. There were 9,082 rejected votes. NA-15 Mansehra included a total of 550 polling stations, with 123 found in Kala Dhaka, where we did not receive Form 45s.

Babar Awan, representing the victorious candidate from NA-15 Mansehra, mentioned that the Assistant Returning Officer testified before a Magistrate, declaring the accusations in the FIR to be unsubstantiated. He confirmed that some Form 45s are indeed accurate, as of the date February 8. There were no disruptions reported during the election until 1 PM, yet people claim the February 9 election was flawed. Holding a new election in one constituency would imply that decisions made for Karachi and Lahore are erroneous. It is surprising to note that counting is ongoing, and the initially declared winner has been defeated in the Rehman Kanju case after a second count.