The Supreme Court has issued a verdict in the Balochistan Assembly constituency PB-14 Naseerabad vote recount and election rigging case. Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa authored the four-page judgement.
The judgement says that forms 45 and 47 are considered valid only until a recount is ordered.
The decision further states that the primary evidence in an election dispute is the ballot papers cast. If an application is approved, a recount takes place in the presence of all the candidates. The case before the court does not pertain to election bags having been de-selaed.
As per the court verdict, once voting ends, the presiding officer counts the votes and prepares Form 45. The returning officer counts the votes as per Form 45 and issues Form 47. According to Form 47, the returning officer sends the result to the election commission. Only the ballot papers cast determine the actual results, the court ruled.
The court further ruled that Forms 45 and 47 cannot be considered final when the ballot bags are opened and the votes recounted. Forms 45 and 47 are treated as valid until a recount order is issued, it added.
The Supreme Court had previously rejected the request of the PPP for a recount in Balochistan Assembly’s PB-14 constituency as well as the allegations of favouritism by the returning officers. The hearing was conducted by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, and including Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal.
During the hearing, the CJP asked the petitioner how he found out that wrong result has been prepared. The lawyer maintained that these were not results as per Form 45 and alleged that the officers were biased.
Justice Isa remarked that Form 45 or 75 is no longer valid after a sealed ballot box is opened. He said the most important evidence in elections are votes, noting that Form 45 is prepared by the presiding officer.
The CJP asked the petitioner's lawyer to prove the bias of the presiding officers and explain how they were related. He said there were no allegations against the recount, and even if the presiding officer is an enemy, the decision was made by votes. The Form 45 has no value before votes, the CJP declared.
Later, the Supreme Court upheld the victory of PML-N candidate Muhammad Khan Lehri, rejecting the recount plea.
