ECP issues Imran Khan’s victory notification from Lahore’s NA-131

• Imran Khan’s victory notification from NA-53 Islamabad withheld
  
• ECP demands a formal apology from Khan for violating the electoral code of conduct

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued a victory notification for Imran Khan from constituency NA-131 (Lahore) on Thursday upon orders of the Supreme Court (SC).

Earlier, ECP had withheld notifications of Imran’s victory from NA-131 Lahore and NA-53 Islamabad constituencies. Although the ECP had issued victory notifications for the PTI chief in three other constituencies — NA-35 Bannu, NA-243 Karachi and NA-95 Mianwali — it had kept these notifications subject to its final decision in the pending cases against Imran.

Earlier in the day, the ECP said that it has also cleared victory notifications for Imran from NA-35 Bannu, NA-243 Karachi and NA-95 Mianwali.

Currently, the ECP has withheld victory notification for Imran Khan from NA-53 Islamabad. The electoral body has demanded Imran Khan for a formal apology for misconduct while filing his vote for general elections.

On August 7, the Supreme Court (SC) had suspended Lahore High Court’s (LHC) order to recount votes in NA-131. LHC had also barred the ECP from issuing Imran’s victory notification.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had approached the Supreme Court (SC) against LHC’s decision to order a recount of votes in Lahore’s NA-131 after the results of the July 25 general elections. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, who lost the election to Imran by just 680 votes, had approached the court for the recount.

On August 4, the LHC had ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to recount the votes in NA-131 on the PML-N’s petition. The court had also barred the ECP from issuing a notification declaring Imran as the winning candidate from the constituency.

Imran had received 84,313 votes while Rafique got 83,633 votes. Earlier, the returning officer had dismissed Rafique’s application for a vote recount.