ISLAMABAD: A senior counsel representing the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s losing candidate told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in its analysis report on polling in the National Assembly constituency NA-110 Sialkot had missed out the record of 29 polling stations.

“The aggregate result of the 29 polling stations... involves a staggering 30,000 votes,” said Dr Babar Awan representing PTI candidate Usman Dar.

He was dissecting the Nadra report before a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali that had taken up an application of Mr Dar.

The report was submitted to the court in compliance with its Jan 19 directives for conducting verification of thumb impressions of voters of the constituency from where PML-N stalwart and sitting defence minister Khawaja Asif had emerged victorious in 2013 general elections.

The counsel argued that the missing out of 30,000 votes became all the more significant in view of the difference of votes obtained by the successful and the losing candidates, which stood at 20,911 votes. Khawaja Asif had obtained 92,484 votes and Usman Dar had secured 71,573 votes in the election.

“If we miss out 30,000 votes from the total votes polled, the entire election results will be materially affected,” Mr Awan argued.

Referring to the precedence set out in the Raja Amir Zaman case, in which the court had ordered re-election in seven polling stations but later amended the order on an appeal and ordered re-election in the entire constituency, he requested the court to order re-polling in NA-110.

But the court directed the Election Commission of Pakistan secretary and officials of Nadra to appear in person before the court on Wednesday to explain the anomaly highlighted by the counsel. The chief justice observed that the ECP was the trustee of the election material.

NA-110 Sialkot is one of the four constituencies, including NA-125 Lahore, NA-122 Lahore and NA-154 Lodhran, which remained at the centre of attack of the PTI leadership in their campaign to establish massive rigging in the 2013 elections. Election petitions were also instituted seeking re-election in the constituencies. Later by-election was held NA-154 Lodhran and the seat was won by Jahangir Tareen of the PTI.

Justice Faisal Arab, one of the members of the bench, observed that the winning candidate must also have secured a significant number of votes from the 29 missing polling stations.

Mr Awan argued that Nadra had verified only 44,000 votes out of total 142,000 votes in its analysis report but Justice Umar Atta Bandial observed that the irregularity highlighted by him was not a fault of the winning or losing candidates.

Mr Awan said that the report had mentioned identity card numbers of the voters in 12 digits though a card number contained 13 digits. The Nadra report had shown letter X in place of the 13th digit, he said and added that it showed that the report was not correct.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2016