HYDERABAD: A division bench of Sindh High Court’s Hyder­abad circuit on Tuesday turned down Dr Fehmida Mirza’s plea for staying the ongoing reco­un­ting of votes in the NA-230 Badin-II constituency from where she has been unofficially declared winner. She asked court to direct the returning officer concerned to announce the consolidated results of the constituency on the basis of Form 45.

“Recounting process shall continue. However, consolidated result on forms-48 and 49 shall not be announced by respondent no-7 [RO] NA-230 Badin-II till next date of hearing,” the bench comprising Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput and Mohammad Iqbal Mahar ordered after hearing Ms Mirza and her counsel Javed Mir.

Directing the RO to continue with the recounting process, the bench restrained him from announcing the consolidated result of NA-230 till Aug 2, when the matter would be taken up for hearing at 11.30am.

The petitioner had prayed to court to order suspension of the operation of ECP’s July 30 letter which, she submitted, prejudiced her right by directly intervening in the recounting process.

The bench issued notices to the deputy attorney general (DAG), additional advocate general (AAG), chief election commissioner and other respondents for Aug 2.

Javed Mir informed the bench that his client and her opponent [rival candidate on NA-230] Rasool Bux Chandio had requested recounting of votes on July 26. The process started on July 29 but in the meantime she, in another such case [results of PS-73 Badin-III] expressed the fear that everything had been manipulated in the polling material. The counsel said that she urged the RO to take certain measures in line with the electoral laws but he did not pay heed to her request.

Instead, he said, the RO wrote a letter to the ECP claiming that hurdles were being created [by her] in the recounting process. The ECP then issued the July 30 letter asking the RO to continue with the recounting process, he added.

The counsel argued that under Section 95 and its sub-clauses of the Election Act, 2017, ECP was supposed to record reasons for allowing recounting but no such reasons were recorded. He asserted that his client was deprived of her right to appeal before ECP under Section 125(1) against recounting or consolidation of result.

Ms Mirza submitted in court that the RO, in his letter to the ECP, had mentioned only one side’s version and had even called Rangers [personnel] in his office.

She argued that if ECP had to intervene, then it was supposed to hear both parties. She questioned that how the ECP was intervening when none of the parties had sought its intervention.

She stated that she emerged successful in the unofficial results but her opponent, Haji Rasool Bux Chandio, approached the RO and started crying foul under a well-thought scheme of manipulating result. No cogent reason was shown for a recount of votes yet the RO allowed his [Mr Chandio’s] request, she complained.

She claimed that after results were announced, she learnt that Chandios with the support of local administration had started tampering the election record and stuffing bogus votes. She further claimed that during the recounting, when bags were opened, most envelops were already torn and a bunch of votes in favour of a particular candidate were separately available. She said she requested the RO to make a note of illegalities being pointed out by her but he flatly refused.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2018