PESHAWAR: A two-member commission formed for recounting of rejected votes and postal ballot papers of PK-90 Chitral has submitted its report to the election tribunal in which Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sardar Hussain took a lead of one vote against All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Member Provincial Assembly Ghulam Mohammad.
In the 17-page report, the commission comprising Riaz Ahmad Khattak, a law officer in the provincial election commission, and Shafiq Ahmad, a retired joint provincial election commissioner of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, concluded that in all the process from inspection, examination and recounting of polling station-wise, the rejected ballot papers, 23 ballot papers, were found validly marked in favour of Ghulam Mohammad and counted in favour of the AMPL MPA.
Similarly, the report stated that 23 ballot papers, including three ballot papers, recovered from the polling bag of polling station No.173 of National Assembly corresponding to polling station of No.24 of provincial assembly were found validly marked in favour of Sardar Hussain.
As far as postal ballot papers were concerned, the report said that 13 postal ballot papers were rejected and excluded from the score of Ghulam Mohammad, while five postal ballot papers were rejected and excluded from the tally of Sardar Hussain.
The commission submitted in the report that in the recounting process 10 votes increased the score of Ghulam Mohammad and 18 votes were added to the score of Sardar Hussain. However, before the recounting of the rejected votes and postal ballot papers, Ghulam Mohammad had a lead of seven votes against his rival Sardar Hussain of PPP. After submission of the commission report, the election tribunal would hear the case on October 22.
The losing PPP candidate Sardar Hussain had filed an election petition in the tribunal and requested the court for recounting of rejected votes and postal ballot papers of PK-90 Chitral, which the tribunal accepted and appointed the two-member commission for recounting the votes in the presence of both the candidates.
Sources told The News that Ghulam Mohammad had lodged protest during the recounting of the postal ballot papers, claiming that his 13 votes, including three votes given in the name of former MPA and 10 for Haji Ghulam Mohammad, were declared invalid by the commission.
The sources said he had submitted to the commission that he was a former MPA and second he was also Haji Ghulam Mohammad and the votes were polled to him and not another candidate in his name, Maulana Ghulam Mohammad.
