PESHAWAR, Sept 2: The Peshawar High Court on Friday stayed the recounting of votes in Battela union council of Batagram district and put the Election Commission of Pakistan on notice.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Raza and Justice Jehanzeb Raheem admitted for full hearing a writ petition filed by the elected nazim of the said union council, Abdul Sattar Khan.

The next hearing will now be held on Sept 6.

The high court has already stayed the recounting of votes in scores of union councils across the province and all the identical writ petitions will be heard on Sept 6.

The petitioner stated that although initially a rival contestant, Habib Shah, had been declared successful it was he who eventually emerged as the winner by a slender margin.

When the returning officer conducted a recount on his application, the petitioner said he was declared as the returned candidate having eight more votes than his rival. He said that he was notified as the returned candidate.

The petitioner stated that now his rival candidate had filed an application with the chief election commissioner, who ordered a fresh recount within three days.

Barrister Masood Kausar appeared for the petitioner and contended that the CEC had no powers to order a fresh recount after the establishment of the election tribunals.

He argued that an election dispute could now only be challenged before the election tribunal.

PETITION DISPOSED OF: A two-member bench of the high court on Friday disposed of a writ petition challenging the closure of a cinema in Kohat district by the local police after the concerned police officers gave an undertaking in court.