Daily Times

The Supreme Court Thursday dismissed a petition filed by PPP’s Ghulam Rasool, challenging the election result of PB-14 and accusing returning officers of bias. The court upheld the victory of PML-N’s Mahmood Khan.

During the hearing, CJP Qazi Faez Isa questioned the petitioner’s lawyer about the basis of his claim that the election results were manipulated. The lawyer argued that the results did not match the data on Forms-45 and accused the officers of partiality.

In response, Justice Isa emphasised the primacy of votes as the most critical evidence in elections, stating, “Forms-45 are filled out by presiding officers; the real evidence is the votes themselves.” He further suggested that any objections should focus on the recount process, such as whether the ballot boxes were tampered with.

The lawyer persisted in alleging fraud by the presiding officers, claiming he was unfairly labelled as dishonest without evidence. However, the chief justice maintained that decisions are made based on facts and records, not on accusations, and challenged the lawyer to prove the presiding officers’ bias by demonstrating any familial ties.

Concluding the hearing, the chief justice asserted, “Even if the presiding officer is an enemy, the decision is determined by the votes. Forms-45 hold no significance in comparison.” The court thus rejected the request for a recount in seven of the 96 polling stations, affirming Mahmood Khan’s electoral success.