PESHAWAR, Nov 30: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court has set aside a judgment of an election tribunal and declared the election of a Union Nazim valid.

The bench comprising Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Ijazul Hassan ruled that the returning officer had powers to examine and count votes ignored by the concerned presiding officer.

An election tribunal had declared the election of the petitioner, Saeedullah Khan, as Nazim of union council University Town illegal and had ordered by-elections.

The petitioner had challenged the decision of the tribunal on the ground that the returning officer enjoyed the powers under the rules to count challenged votes.

The rival candidate, Shakirullah, had also filed a writ petition before the high court, praying that he should be declared Nazim of the union council as he was runners-up after Saeedullah. The court accepted the petition of Saeedullah and turned down the plea of Shakirullah.

The former Attorney-General for Pakistan, Qazi Muhammad Jamil, appeared for Saeedullah, and argued that the presiding officer of a polling station had not counted the challenged votes, which were later on counted by the returning officer during consolidation of results.

He argued that under the rules, if a vote was challenged, the presiding officer has to keep it separate in an envelope and to count it at the time of counting. In instant case, he stated, the presiding officer did not count the challenged votes and were counted by the returning officer while consolidating the results.

Jamil referred to Rule 40 of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 2001, stating that under the rule the returning officer should examine ballot papers ignored by the presiding officer.

About the allegations of the opponent candidates of casting of votes by Afghan refugees, he argued that the tribunal had not recorded any evidence in that regard. “There was no proof about casting of votes by Afghans,” he added.

Barrister Masood Kausar appeared for the rival candidate, Shakirullah, and argued that at the time of polling the polling agents of Shakirullah had pointed out various votes cast by Afghans.