ISLAMABAD: The recount of votes in some constituencies where the defeat margin was less than the number of cancelled votes can affect the overall result of the elections.
Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and former prime minister Shahid Khaqani Abbasi suffered a humiliating defeat in their respective constituencies.
However, contrary to it, in some constituencies, the defeat margin of political titans was less than the rejected votes; hence most of the top guns opted for a recount. In NA-131 Lahore-IX, where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan defeated Khawaja Saad Rafique with 680 votes while 3,835 votes were rejected.
According to Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) official results, the PTI chairman bagged 84,313 votes, while Khawaja Saad Rafique got 83,633 votes which means that the defeat margin is less than the rejected votes and for this reason, the latter opted for a recount. This could affect the result of the constituency.
However, the most interesting result emerged in NA-21 Mardan-II, where Amir Haider Khan Hoti of Awami National Party (ANP) defeated PTI leader Muhammad Atif with mere 33 votes, while the rejected votes are 5,790. A recount could change things in favour of the PTI leader.
Similarly, the situation in NA-249 Karachi West-II is also quite interesting as Muhammad Faisal Vawda of PTI obtained 35,344 votes and Shehbaz Sharif got 34,626 votes. The rejected votes here were 2,684.
In NA-230 Badin-II, Fehmida Mirza of Grand Democratic Alliance (GAD) got 96,875 votes while Haji Rasool Bux Chandio of PPP obtained 96,015 votes. The margin of victory is less than the rejected votes which are 10,263; hence the recount could make a difference.
Khalid Hussain Magsi of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) got 53,330 votes while PTI leader Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind got 40,188 in NA-260 Nasirabad-Kachhi-Jhal Magsi. The rejected votes here were 13,597.
An interesting situation emerged in NA-268 Chagai-Nushki-Kharan where few thousands of votes had been polled in, leading to the victory of MMA’s Muhammad Usman Badini who got 1,210 votes while BAP candidate Muhammad Hashim got 1,137 votes. The rejected votes here were 154. Shockingly, PML-N senior leader Abdul Qadir got mere 265 votes.
HEADS OF PARTIES FACED DEFEAT WITH HUGE MARGIN:
However, interestingly, the leadership of all political parties suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of their opponents, as Fazlur Rehman, who summoned All Parties Conference (APC) on Friday, faced a humiliating defeat in both constituencies with a huge margin. In NA-38 Dera Ismail Khan-I Ali Amin Khan of PTI bagged 80,236, whereas Fazlur Rehman got 45,457 votes and the rejected votes were 8,294. Similarly, he faced another defeat in NA-39 Dera Ismail Khan-II in which Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh of PTI got 79,334 votes, while Fazlur Rehman got 52,031 votes and the rejected votes were 361 so there is no chance of his victory in a recount.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari faced a defeat with huge margin at the hands of PTI candidate Abdul Shakoor Shad in NA-246 Karachi South-I where the later secured 52,750 votes and the former 39,325, lagging behind Ahmed Bakhsh of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) who got 42,345, while the total rejected votes in the constituency were 3,468.
Similarly, Shahbaz Sharif suffered defeat with a huge margin in NA-192 Dera Ghazi Khan-IV, where he got 67,608 votes and PTI candidate Sirdar Muhammad Khan Laghari got 80,522 while the rejected votes were 5,632.
Moreover, the PTI chairman inflicted punching defeated on MMA senior leader Akram Khan Durrani in NA-35 Bannu in which Imran Khan got 113,822 votes and Durrani secured 106,820 votes while rejected votes were 7,356.
Similarly, Imran Khan defeated Shahid Khaqan Abbasi with a huge margin in NA-53 Islamabad-II in which the PTI chairman got 92,891 votes while the former prime minister was far behind with 44,314 votes. The rejected votes here were 1,480.
In another constituency, NA-57 Rawalpindi-I, Shahid Khaqani Abbasi suffered defeat at the hands of PTI candidate Sadaqat Abbasi with a fair margin, where the former got 12,4703 votes while the letter secured 136,249. The rejected votes here were 3,908.
In NA-158 Multan-V, PTI’s Muhammad Ibrahim Khan got 83,304 votes and PPP stalwart Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani obtained 74,443 while the rejected votes were 5,690.
The ECP details showed that in NA-59 Rawalpindi-III, PTI’s Ghulam Sarwar Khan defeated Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan with a fair margin, as the former got 89,055, while the latter secured 66,369 votes. However, the rejected votes here were 7,661.
Similarly, in NA-63 Rawalpindi-VII, Ghulam Sarwar Khan defeated Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan with a huge margin where they got 100,986 and 65,767 votes respectively while the rejected votes were 7,661.
In NA-263 Killa Abdullah, Salahuddin of MMA defeated Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai with huge margin who remained third in the race, as MMA candidate got 37,971 votes while Achackzai got 19,989 votes. The rejected votes here were 3,418.
Similarly, in NA-7 Lower Dir-II, MMA Vice President Sirajul Haq faced defeat with a huge margin as he got 46,040 votes while the victorious candidate of PTI Muhammad Bashir Khan secured 63,017 votes. The rejected votes here were 4,455.
The recount could change things in NA-108 Faisalabad-VIII, where the rejected votes were 5,177 and the victory margin was 1,212 as PTI’s Farrukh Habib got 112,740 while Abid Sher Ali got 111,529 votes.
In NA-23 Charsadda-I, Anwar Taj of PTI got 59,371 votes while Qaumi Watan Party chief Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao secured 33,561 votes and remained third in the race. The rejected votes here were 6,779.
Similarly, in NA-24 Charsadda-II, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan faced a punching defeat as he got 59,483 votes while PTI candidate Fazal Muhammad Khan got 83,495 votes. The rejected votes here were 7,832.