May 20, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1429

ISLAMABAD, May 19: The Supreme Court on Monday declared Maulana Attaur Rehman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) as a successful candidate from NA-25 Tank and ordered the Election Commission to issue a notification in this regard.

Losing candidates Habibullah Kundi of the PML-Q and independent Dabar Khan had requested the court to order re-polling or at least a vote re-count because, according to them, the polling officers had signed the result of only 22 of the 257 polling stations.

“With the announcement of judgment in our favour, the strength of the MMA in the National Assembly has risen to seven,” the Maulana’s counsel Qari Abdul Rasheed told Dawn.

He said the apex court had accepted his plea that the returning officer had no authority to order a recount after consolidation of votes in a constituency.

Last Thursday, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Ejaz-ul-Hassan and Justice Chuadhry Ejaz Yousaf had reserved its judgment on an appeal against Peshawar High Court’s order regarding recounting of votes at various polling stations.

Earlier, the court had stayed the notification of the results till its final decision.