Tribunal upholds Nawaz Sharif’s NA-130 victory, rejects PTI challenge

LAHORE:

An election tribunal has upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s announcement declaring Nawaz Sharif the winner in Lahore’s NA-130, dismissing a challenge filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Dr. Yasmin Rashid.

The decision ends her bid to overturn Sharif’s victory in the February 2024 general election from the constituency, also known as NA-130 (Lahore-XIV).

The court, headed by Justice Rana Zahid Mahmood, dismissed Dr. Rashid’s petition on technical grounds. The ruling means that the official result announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) remains in effect.

According to the announced results of the February 8, 2024 election, the three-time prime minister secured 179,310 votes in NA-130, while Dr. Rashid scored 104,485.

Dr. Rashid had approached the court in the weeks after the vote, arguing through his lawyers that the ECP did not follow the correct procedure when it announced Sharif’s victory. She alleged that the result had been manipulated in his favor and sought to have the notice set aside.

Her legal team argued that the result was based on incorrect documentation and flawed processes. They argued that the ECP’s consolidated results, commonly referred to in public debate as Form-47, contradicted the polling station-level results recorded on Form-45, which they claimed showed a different result.

Form-45 is the official “result of the count” prepared at each polling station and signed by election officials. It has been repeatedly cited by PTI-backed candidates in post-election challenges across the country after the 2024 general elections, forming the basis for several petitions challenging official results.

The court’s decision in NA-130 is among several rulings pending in election disputes filed after the February polls, as courts continue to examine challenges centered on alleged discrepancies between polling place registrations and consolidated results.