The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Abid Sher Ali’s plea for a vote recount in NA-108 Faisalabad. A single bench of the high court comprising Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh heard the petition. The petitioner was advised to approach the relevant forum against the verdict. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Farrukh Habib had defeated Ali in the constituency by 1,200 votes. On August 3, the court had stopped the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from issuing Habib’s victory notification. However, the bar ended after the dismissal of the petition. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had suspended LHC’s order to re-tabulate results of the NA-131 Lahore-9 constituency, from where PTI chief Imran Khan stood victorious against PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique. Rafique had petitioned for a recount, alleging that the presiding officer deliberately rejected hundreds of votes. His counsel had contended that a recount request was valid if the victory margin was less than five percent. After hearing arguments of the petitioner, the apex court had suspended LHC’s ruling for re-tabulation and accepted Imran’s plea for hearing. Published in Daily Times, August 10th 2018.