–Imran conditionally allowed to take oath as ECP withholds notifications in Lahore and Islamabad constituencies, issues conditional notification on other three
—Independent candidates elected on NA, provincial seats given three days to join parties of choice
–PTI demands CJP to take notice of withheld election results
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday notified the final results for the general elections, issuing a list of the winning MNAs and MPAs, however, the results of 32 national and provincial constituencies have not been specified for various reasons, among which are two seats of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan who has been conditionally allowed to take oath.
In a notification issued on Tuesday, the ECP withheld the results of 32 national and provincial constituencies over various reasons. According to reports, the decision has been taken due to court orders to conduct vote recount in 15 National Assembly (NA) and 17 provincial constituencies.
The ECP has withheld the notification of Imran Khan’s success in NA-53 Islamabad and NA-131 Lahore owing to violation of the code of conduct and recounting, respectively.
The commission has declared him victorious in three constituencies — NA-35 Bannu, NA-95 Mianwali-I and NA-243 Karachi East-II — and allowed him to take oath on one of these seats. The final decision in this regard, however, will depend on the outcome of code of conduct violation cases against him.
The PTI chief, who emerged successful on five National Assembly seats in the July 25 polls, will reportedly take oath as a member of the Lower House of the Parliament on August 11, according to the latest reports.
It is worth mentioning that ECP had restrained victory notifications of Pervez Khattak in NA-25 Nowshera, Khawaja Asif in NA-73 Sialkot, Hameed Ali in NA-90 and Zulfiqar Bhatti in NA-91.
Likewise, the courts also stopped the commission from releasing triumph announcements of Farrukh Habib in NA-108, Junaid Anwar Chaudhry in NA-112, Sardar Talib in NA-140, Naveed Dairo in NA-215 and Sanaullah in NA-106.
ECP ISSUES NOTIFICATIONS TO SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES:
After a summary of issuing notifications to successful candidates was approved by the chief election commissioner, the documents were uploaded on the electoral body’s website.
The independent candidates now have three days to join a party. The final list of positions of parties will then be issued.
The notifications to successful candidates from reserved seats will be issued after the final list of positions of political parties is compiled. Candidates from reserved seats will be notified within two days after independent candidates join political parties.
According to the electoral body, political parties have submitted their lists of preferences for reserved seats.
After the notification of candidates for the special seats is issued, the president will summon NA’s session. The newly-elected parliamentarians will take oath and elect the speaker and leader of the house in the same session.
The governors of all the four provinces will summon the session of provincial assemblies according to the rules.
It is worth mentioning that polls were delayed on two seats of the NA and six of provincial assemblies. Elections for these seats will be held within 60 days after newly-elected members of the national and provincial assemblies take oath.
PTI DEMANDS CJP TO TAKE NOTICE OF WITHHELD ELECTION RESULTS:
PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday demanded that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar take notice of withholding of election results by ECP.
Fawad said that withholding the results of 2018 General Elections is a serious matter, adding that finalisation of election results is important for the transition.
The PTI spokesperson went on to say that the court and administrative decisions should not contradict with the interests of the country.
He said that the results of these constituencies should be released as soon as possible.
On July 25, Pakistan voted for the country’s second consecutive democratic transfer of power. Voters from 85,307 constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies cast ballots in favour of the 11,855 contesting candidates.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as a winner in the National Assembly with 116 seats. The party also bagged the most votes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) — where it ruled for the past five years.
In Punjab, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the single-largest party in the provincial assembly with 129 seats, while the PTI has a tally of 123.
