Summary Nadra had issued a supplementary report earlier
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers on Saturday clashed while waiting anxiously for NA-122 verdict by the election tribunal.
The parties workers clashed outside the Lahore chapter of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). However, authorities have issued directives to maintain tight security and counter voilent acts by any means necessary. A water cannon has also been called at the site ahead of the verdict. Justice Kazim Malik has said that the verdict would be given at around 2:30pm.
Election tribunal on Saturday will give its much awaited verdict in alleged rigging probe of NA-122 constituency.
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The verdict will be passed after a longstanding rift between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and National Assembly (NA) Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.
On May 11 2013, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Sadiq won election in NA-122 with at least 93,389 votes while Khan secured 84,517 votes. The margin between the rivals stood at 8,872 votes. Khan challenged the election result in election tribunal on July 5. As a shield from tribunal’s verdict, Sadiq approached LHC to get a stay order which was granted in September.
A year later, in November 2014 the LHC permitted the tribunal to probe the matter. Sadiq, once again tried to halt the proceedings and filed a plea which was declared non-maintainable by the LHC.
Khan’s plea to recount votes in the constituency was accepted by tribunal’s judge, Kazim Malik. The recounting of votes was given in the supervision of a local commission which was headed by retired sessions judge Ghulam Hussain. Within 48 days, the commission filed a report in the tribunal after recounting.
The commission stated in its report that no rigging proofs surfaced during the probe however, there were some irregularities.
On February 14 2015, the tribunal accepted another plea filed by PTI chairman seeking review of records by National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra). The database department, after four months on June 14 submitted its forensic report to the tribunal. The report pointed out major irregularities in the process while verified at least 184,151 votes. Out of the total verified, as many as 73,478 votes were verified through thumb impressions.
After filing the report, Nadra issued a supplementary report. The LHC had reserved its verdict over including the supplementary report as part of the case.
On June 16, tribunal’s judge ordered both the counsels for PTI and PML-N to present their conclusive arguments. By August 17, the counsels finalised their arguments and the tribunal reserved its verdict.
The alleged rigging probe by the election tribunal expands over a span of two years, one month and 17 days. While a total of as many as 58 hearings were conducted throughout the process.
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