Did recounting of votes give Nawaz Sharif's party undue advantage?

Merely two months of having some sort of stability in its government following a long-drawn tumultuous period under a caretaker government, Pakistan witnessed a fresh twist that has come as blow for PTI and proved beneficial for Nawaz Sharif-led PML-N.

PTI-backed independent candidates face setbacks

Despite achieving a historic feat in the national elections this year, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independent candidates are now facing setbacks. They are losing their victorious seats to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) following recounting of votes across several constituencies.

Recounting process leads to surprising outcomes

In NA-154 (Lodhran), ex-minister of state for interior Abdul Rehman Kanju, initially defeated by PTI-backed independent candidate Rana Faraz Noon, emerged as the winner after the recount, with a lead of 7,301 votes.

Similarly, in NA-81, Gujranwala, PML-N’s Azhar Qayyum Nahra was declared the winner after the recount, turning the initial results in favour of a PTI-backed independent candidate, Bilal Ijaz.

Furthermore, in the Jaranwala PP-100 constituency, PML-N’s Khan Bahadar recently defeated PTI-backed candidate Chaudhry Umair Wasi Zafar. After Bahadar’s application for recounting, the results favored PML-N, indicating a trend of PML-N’s resurgence in the recounting process.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued victory notifications based on the recount results, leading to the withdrawal of previously declared winners.

PTI says mandate was stolen

PTI leadership has consistently claimed that its mandate was stolen and expressed reservations about the poll results. However, despite these claims, the recounting process has not yielded favourable outcomes for PTI, with the party losing seats one after another.

Asad Qaiser, a PTI leader, had previously alleged that the ECP was planning to reduce 20 more seats for PTI through recounting, citing instances where PTI-backed candidates were allegedly deprived of access to recounting facilities. These allegations have contributed to a growing sense of dissatisfaction and frustration within PTI ranks.

PML-N face setbacks

Amid all this, as per a report in the Dawn, the ruling PML-N has also faced setbacks, with two of its National Assembly seats being revoked by separate benches of the Lahore High Court. The victory notifications of PML-N lawmakers elected from Gujranwala and Lodhran were set aside, while another PML-N MNA from Nankana Sahib had his victory notification suspended following a petition filed by his PTI-backed opponent.

Simultaneously, incarcerated PTI leader Dr. Yasmin Rashid has also taken legal action against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s victory from Lahore’s NA-130 constituency, presenting a challenge before an LHC election tribunal.

During April 16 proceedings, LHC Justice Shahid Karim ruled against NA-81 (Gujranwala) MNA Azhar Qayum Nahra, favouring a petition submitted by PTI-backed independent candidate Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz. The petitioner’s counsel argued that initially, his client had been declared the winner by a margin of 7,791 votes. However, following a recount requested by Mr. Nahra, conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Nahra was declared the victor with a reduced margin of 3,100 votes. The counsel also highlighted that approximately 10,000 votes for the petitioner were invalidated during the recount.

In fact, Justice Karim noted that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had disregarded the Supreme Court’s ruling by ordering the recount. The judge further inquired from the ECP’s lawyer whether this act of disregarding the Supreme Court’s decision could be considered contempt of court.

As per section 143 (case management) of the ECP Rules of 2017, the Election Tribunal has the authority, with mutual agreement from both parties, to establish a timeline for the trial and resolution of petitions within a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date of petition filing until the final judgment is announced.

With inputs from agencies