GUJRANWALA: Recounting in NA-81 resulted in PML-N’s Azhar Qayyum Nahra being declared the winner, with 10,645 votes rejected on Thursday.

Following the directive on March 12, recounting of 75 polling stations’ ballot papers was conducted. Returning Officer Muhammad Naveed Haider issued a letter to all relevant officers on March 13, and the recounting process commenced at Quaid-i-Azam Divisional Public School on March 14.

PML-N’s Nahra emerged victorious due to the significant increase in rejected votes during the recounting process. The number of rejected votes rose from 7,141 to 17,786 during the recount.

The votes of PTI’s Rana Bilal Ijaz, previously declared successful on Feb 9, decreased by 10,645, dropping from 17,717 to 10,860. Simultaneously, the votes of Mr Nahra, who initially secured second place with 109,926 votes, increased to 110,057. This led to a complete change in the results of NA-81.

Returning Officer Mohammad Naveed Haider issued Form 47 and Form 49 based on the new results following the recount.

Mr Ijaz attended the National Assembly session in Islamabad, while PML-N workers distributed sweets upon Nahra’s victory announcement.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2024