The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday dismissed a plea seeking vote recount on Lahore’s NA-118 constituency which was won by Riaz Malik of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Malik, who had won the seat in the 2013 general election, had requested the court for a recount saying he did not trust the election tribunal currently probing rigging allegations by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Malik added that he did not trust Kazim Ali Malik, the tribunal member from Lahore.
After Malik’s win, PTI’s Hamid Zaman, who had stood as runner-up, had filed a petition in an election tribunal alleging the PML-N candidate committed rigging in the general polls. The tribunal later ordered the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to verify ballots with thumb impressions of the voters.
NADRA found discrepancies in the election record of NA-118 following which Malik appealed to the LHC for looking into rigging charges. He contended in his application that he did not trust the Lahore division tribunal and requested that the case be shifted to any other tribunal, adding that the Election Commission was under pressure from PTI.
LHC’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah dismissed the plea on the grounds that the courts had no jurisdiction to entertain challenges to proceedings of the election tribunals in view of the constitutional bar under Article 225 of the Constitution. The article empowers the tribunals to determine controversies relating to the post-election litigations.
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