LHC decision annulled, victories of 3 PML-N MNAs reinstated

Supreme Court restores ECP’s decision regarding recount in NA-154, NA-81, NA-79

The Supreme Court has declared null and void a decision of the Lahore High Court, and reinstated a decision given by the Election Commission of Pakistan after a recount regarding three constituencies of the National Assembly.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa pronounced a reserved verdict regarding the recount in three constituencies of the National Assembly. The bench also included Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi.

The Supreme Court allowed the appeals of PML-N leaders related to a recount of votes from various polling stations in NA-154, NA-81 and NA-79. The PML-N leaders declared successful in the recount were reinstated.

The Supreme Court passed the decision by a majority of two to one, as CJP Isa and Justice Afghan accepted the PML-N leaders’ appeals against the LHC decision, while Justice Aqeel Abbasi disagreed with the decision. 

The apex court says that the election commission is a constitutional institution and deserves respect, but the high court judges made unnecessary remarks about the head and members of the election commission. The decision of the Lahore High Court cannot be upheld, it remarked. 

It further says the chief election commissioner and its members are entitled to respect, but unfortunately some judges ignore this aspect and make disparaging remarks. Every constitutional institution and constitutional officer deserves respect. The reputation of the organization increases when it performs its duties respectfully, it declares.

The court says it is an admitted fact that the applications for a recount in the three constituencies were received on February 9 and 10. In August 2023, the returning officer was empowered to recount the votes by amending the Elections Act 2017. When the case reached the high court, this amendment was in place, but it did not take into account sub-clause 5 of Section 95 of the law.

Justice Aqeel Abbasi’s dissenting note

Justice Abbasi wrote in his dissenting note that there is no legal or factual error in the decision of the Lahore High Court, therefore there was no need for the intervention of the Supreme Court in the high court verdict. The Lahore High Court referred to various decisions of the election commission and dismissed several requests for recount when the results were final.

No one in the Supreme Court disagreed with these precedents of the high court, the judgement noted. 

It should be noted that on April 25, the Lahore High Court had invalidated the election commission’s notices to two PTI-backed independent members on their requests for recount in their National Assembly constituencies.

On April 16, the Lahore High Court had annulled the victory notification of PML-N’s Azhar Qayyum Nahra from NA-81 Gujranwala and restored the claim of the Sunni Ittehad Council candidate.

Ihsanullah Virk, Chaudhry Bilal Ejaz and Rana Muhammad Faraz Noon of the Sunni Ittehad Council were declared elected from these constituencies, however, their PML-N rivals Abdul Rehman Khan Kanju, Azhar Qayyum Nahra, and Zulfiqar Ahmed challenged the Lahore High Court decision before the Supreme Court. 

Review plea

Meanwhile, PTI candidate Bilal Ejaz from NA-81 Gujranwala has announced plans to file a review appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision. 

He said the people of his constituency had elected him with over 117,000 votes, adding that three seats had been snatched from the PTI and given to the ruling party. “Becoming an MNA was never the sole mission of my life. The goal remains whether I am with Imran Khan or not,” Ejaz remarked.

Ejaz asserted that the whole world knew the seat in question was won by the PTI, adding that the party would honour the people’s mandate.