ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ordered re-election in Balochistan Assembly’s PB-50 constituency in Qilla Abdullah.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, a three-judge SC bench on Monday set aside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order for re-polling at six polling stations in the constituency.

The bench, including Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, ordered the ECP to conduct a fresh election as per the law.

The ECP’s decision was challenged by Awami National Party’s Zamarak Khan, who contended that the turnout at many polling stations in the constituency remained low.

His lawyer, Advocate Wasim Sajjad, argued that despite the low turnout, the ECP did not order a fresh voting at all polling stations.

The counsel claimed that re-polling was only ordered at polling stations where his client had won.

The ECP even cancelled the victory notification of Mr Zamarak after he had taken oath as MPA.

The court observed that it should not be dragged into the technicalities since it cannot hear four hundred election-related cases.

After the consent of all parties, the court ordered a fresh election in the constituency.

Mr Zamarak Khan had bagged 44,713 votes during voting on Feb 8, followed by Malik Nawaz of the JUI-F who secured 43,445 votes. Wayaz Khan of the PkMAP stood third with 34,604 votes.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024