Daily Times

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has withdrawn the victory notification for the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s candidate Awn Chaudhry following the February 8 general elections.

According to ECP results, Chaudhry secured 172,576 votes while Barrister Raja received 159,024 votes in the constituency, but the victory notification of Awn Chaudhry was challenged by PTI-backed independent candidate Salman Akram Raja. The decision was communicated to the Islamabad High Court by the ECP’s director-general of law.

The Islamabad High Court, in response to a petition filed by PTI-backed independent candidate Barrister Salman Akram Raja, declared Awn Chaudhry’s victory from the National Assembly constituency NA-128, Lahore, null and void. The court also instructed the returning officer to submit a report within three days. Barrister Raja had challenged Chaudhry’s election win in the Islamabad High Court, seeking the suspension of his rival candidate’s victory notification.

Separately, the ECP on Wednesday ordered the cessation of the recount process in PB-21 Quetta. The decision came as the electoral body heard a number of petitions regarding purported electoral fraud in various constituencies of the National and provincial assemblies on Wednesday. During the hearing, the commission issued notices to Returning Officers (ROs) and called for detailed reports on the alleged irregularities.