HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, on Friday restrained the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from notifying the results pertaining to the unofficially declared winners of NA-215 Sanghar-I and PS-54 Tharparkar-I seats.

The restraining order was passed on two separate petitions filed by Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) candidate Khuda Bux Rajar and Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Dost Mohammad Rahimoon, respectively.

The bench comprising Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput and Justice Mohammad Iqbal Mahar issued notices to respondents in the two cases as well as the deputy attorney general and additional advocate general for Aug 7 at 11am.

Advocate Jhamatmal Jethanand, who is representing both petitioners, submitted in court that Mr Rajar’s polling agents were expelled from polling stations after 6pm and votes were counted in their absence.

He claimed that in spite of petitioner’s request, the forms 45 and 46 were not provided to him, adding that Form 47 affixed the next day on the notice board of the RO’s office showed a difference of 585 votes between his and [PPP candidate] Naveed Dero’s votes which came to just 0.29pc.

The counsel pinpointed several other anomalies and points of dispute with the RO during the recounting process and claimed that 1,798 votes belonged to his client.

The court also restrained the ECP from notifying consolidated statement pertaining to the results of PS-54 Tharparkar-I seat in an identical order on Dost Mohammad Rahimoon’s petition.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2018