ISLAMABAD:The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) challenged the election results of three National Assembly seats from Islamabad in the capital’s high court and alleged that the February 8 results were marred by rigging.
The three independent candidates backed by PTI have urged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to revoke the victory notification of the three seats which were clinched by Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) members.
The three candidates who challenged the election results from their respective constituencies included Aamir Mughal from NA-46 Islamabad, Shoaib Shaheen from NA-47, and Ali Bukhari from NA-48.
On April 13, six opposition parties including PTI joined to form a “grand opposition alliance” named Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Aain (TTA)“ against the incumbent ‘rigged’ government set-up.
The alliance kicked off its protest movement against alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections from Balochistan by staging two separate public gatherings in Pishin and Chaman on Saturday.
Former parliamentary leader at Sindh assembly and NA-241 candidate, Khurrum Sher Zaman also submitted the NA-241 rigging case to the election tribunal on March 22.
Last month, on February 20, during an informal media talk inside Adiala jail, PTI supremo Imran Khan denounced the poll irregularities as the “mother of all rigging,” asserting that it has turned Pakistan into a global laughing stock.
Despite the suspension of notification regarding the victory of three MNAs by the Islamabad High Court, the final fate of the alleged election-rigging disputes are likely to be decided by the election tribunals, which is a time-consuming process.
However, the current week is very significant as either the superior judiciary or the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will look into the matter or the matter will be referred to the election tribunals for trial.
The PTI candidates are trying to obtain relief either from the ECP through summary proceedings or the superior courts.
The ECP will take up the PTI candidates’ complaints today (Tuesday) against the issuance of final results without considering the Form-45 results given by the presiding officers.
The IHC division bench led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb will resume the hearing on election matters on Wednesday.
The PTI lawyers are hoping for some relief from this bench. However, PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, mistrust IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq.
The PTI has an advantage that some lawyers who contested the elections are aggrieved by the final results. Now, they are approaching every legal forum for relief though they have no support from both the superior bars – Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Bar Association. However, it is being witnessed that the PTI has no one policy to challenge the election results.
