ISLAMABAD: The Election Comm­ission of Pakistan on Thursday again declared PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri the winner of Balochistan’s PB-21 (Hub) constituency.

The development came a day after the electoral watchdog ordered a recount of votes polled in the constituency’s 39 polling stations.

“Pursuant to the order dated Feb 25, 2026, passed by the ECP […] and as a result of recounting at (39) polling stations conducted by the returning officer, PB-21 Hub, the notification dated Dec 19, 2024, is hereby restored, whereby Ali Hassan Zehri was declared the returned candidate from PB-21 Hub,” an ECP notification stated.

Originally, Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Muhammad Saleh Bhootani, who had secured more than double the votes obtained by Mr Zehri, was declared the winner. However, a recount at 39 polling stations two months after the Feb 8, 2024 general elections led to Mr Zehri being declared the winner.

IHC suspends decision till next hearing amid Bhootani’s legal challenge

While the original count had not declared him the runner-up, the recount placed him in the top position and pushed Mr Bhootani to third. The percentage of polled votes also changed from 55.15 per cent to 58.48pc.

The change in the figures was linked to the arrest of five individuals from the strong room where the electoral record had been stored. They were allegedly found with three plastic bags containing fake ballot papers and were attempting to tamper with ballot papers on Feb 11, 2024, hours after the ECP first ordered a recount.

The increase in rejected votes matched the decrease in votes originally secured by Mr Bhootani. His votes were reduced from 30,910 to 17,403 — a difference of 13,507 — while rejected votes increased from 3,648 to 17,155, also a rise of 13,507.

Polled votes jumped from 76,976 to 87,483, an increase of 10,507 votes. Of these, 9,854 were secured by Mr Zehri, raising his total from 14,120 to 23,974. Mr Zehri was notified as winner on Dec 19, 2024.

The ECP initially ordered a recount on Feb 11, 2024, but the process was marred by violence and allegations of fake ballots. After litigation, the Supreme Court on Nov 20, 2024, annulled the proceedings and directed the ECP to decide the matter afresh.

Despite this, on Dec 16, 2024, in a split 3-2 decision, the ECP upheld the recount and notified Mr Zehri as winner, prompting Mr Bhootani to approach the Balochistan High Court and later the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). Earlier this month, the FCC suspended Mr Zehri’s notification and directed the ECP to re-examine pending recount requests.

Recently, Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail removed Mr Zehri from the Sarfaraz Bugti-led provincial cabinet.

Decision suspended

As the ECP kept the winner unchanged, the Islamabad High Court heard Mr Bhootani’s plea challenging the Feb 25 order as “illegal and unlawful”. The petitioner sought directions to uphold the result incorporated in Form-47 and to prepare Forms-48 and 49 accordingly.

The IHC noted that counsel argued the order violated Section 95(6) of the Elections Act, 2017, was coram non judice and based on a “hypothetical assumption”. After issuing notices, the court suspended the operation of the Feb 25 order until the next hearing.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2026