Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Monday ordered recounting of votes in 26 national and provincial constituencies.

Several candidates had objected to the results of their election after the July 25 polls and had appealed to the ECP to order a vote recount.

The recount of several other constituencies is already under way after the losing side appealed to the returning officers concerned.

The recounting will be held in NA-57 (Murree), NA-158 (Multan), NA-110 (Faisalabad), NA-129 (Lahore), NA-112 (Toba Tek Singh), NA-15 (Abbottabad), NA-10 (Shangla), NA-159, NA-170 (Bahawalpur), NA-117 (Nankana Sahib), NA-118 (Nankana Sahib), NA-119 (Sheikhupura), NA-140 (Kasur), NA-188 (Layyah), PP-220 (Multan), PP-6 (Rawalpindi), PP-228 (Lodhran), DG Khan district’s PP-290, PP-291 and PP-292, PK-36 (Abboottabad), PK-93 (Lakki Marwat), PS-73 (Badin) and PS-82 (Jamshoro).

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was defeated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Sadaqat Abbasi in NA-57 (Murree).

In NA-158, former prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Yousaf Raza Gilani was defeated by the PTI candidate.

In NA-129, PML-N leader and National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq had defeated PTI’s Aleem Khan.

In NA-15, PML-N’s Murtaza Javed Abbasi, the deputy speaker of the NA, had defeated PTI’s Ali Asghar Khan.

In NA-10, the PML-N had emerged victorious, whereas in NA-170, the PTI candidate had defeated PML-N leader and former minister Baleeghur Rehman.

In NA-140, NA-112, NA-110, NA-159, NA-118, the PTI candidates had emerged victorious against the PML-N.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) candidate Jamaluddin has retained his seat from NA-49 South Waziristan Agency-I, Tribal Area-X, following a vote recount in the constituency.

Jamaluddin won the NA-49 seat with 7,794 votes, defeating Dost Muhammad Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who received 6,606 votes.

MMA has also retained its victory after a vote recount in PK-93 Lakki Marwat-III. PTI candidate Tariq Saeed had requested a recount after losing to MMA candidate Anwar Hayat Khan. Anwar Hayat Khan had won the seat with 17,114 votes, while Tariq Saeed was the runner-up with 16,342 votes.

Meanwhile, PPP candidate Syed Ali Moosa Gilani, the son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, has boycotted the vote recount in NA-157 Multan-IX, where he lost to PTI’s Zain Qureshi. Moosa Gilani’s brother, Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani, who contested on PPP’s ticket from NA-154 Multan-I, has also boycotted the vote recount. He lost to PTI candidate Ahmed Hussain Dehr. Both the brothers have decided to approach the court over the matter.

Published in Daily Times, July 31^st 2018.