ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa stated on Thursday that once ballot boxes are opened, Forms 45 and 75 lose their significance.
This remark came as a three-member Supreme Court bench, led by CJP Isa, dismissed a petition filed by Ghulam Rasool, a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate, seeking a recount of votes in the Balochistan Assembly’s PB-14 Naseerabad constituency. The court upheld the victory of Muhammad Khan Lehri, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) candidate, stating there was no evidence supporting Rasool’s allegations.
During the hearing, Justice Isa emphasized that the most critical evidence in elections are the actual votes, not the forms, which are completed by presiding officers. The petitioner’s lawyer accused the presiding officers of tampering with the results after re-polling at seven polling stations, arguing that the results did not match the Form 45 submissions. However, CJP Isa asked how the lawyer could claim the result was incorrect.
The lawyer insisted the presiding officers were biased, but Justice Isa clarified that once the ballot boxes are opened, the forms have no legal standing. Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan also pointed out that the lawyer was relying on copies of documents, while the presiding officers presented original records. He added that even the lawyer’s witnesses misidentified the presiding officers and failed to prove themselves as polling agents.
CJP Isa noted that the lawyer’s argument was flawed, as he neither objected to the recounting process nor to the opening of the ballot boxes. He reiterated that the case was built on unproven accusations rather than factual evidence.
Justice Shahid Bilal remarked that it was a straightforward case, with the record showing no support for the petitioner’s claims. When the lawyer again accused the presiding officers of fraud, Justice Isa urged him to focus on presenting legal evidence rather than making baseless accusations.
In the end, the Supreme Court upheld PMLN’s Muhammad Khan Lehri’s victory and rejected the request for another recount at the seven polling stations.
