PPP retains NA-249 seat by greater margin after recount

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has retained the NA-249 by-election with a greater margin as Abdul Qadir Mandokhel of PPP declared winner in the final result after the votes recount.

As per details, after a recount of votes polled across all 276 stations, PPP candidate Abdul Qadir Mandokhel got 15,656 votes, whereas PML-N candidate Miftah Ismail secured 14,747, meaning a victory margin of 909 votes.

Earlier, when the unofficial by-poll results were first announced, Mandokhel won with 16,156 votes, whereas Ismail came in second with 15,473, resulting in a difference of 683 votes.

The low margin of votes had prompted Ismail to petition the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold a recount. The recount had been boycotted by all parties except for the PPP.

The candidates of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and other political parties except PPP boycotted the recount.

Talking to media outside the ECP, PTI’s Amjad Afridi said they had demanded the election commission to provide details of Form 45 and 46 before the recount. He claimed the votes bags brought for recounting were even not sealed.

PML-N’s Miftah Ismail also claimed that were denied provision of Form 45 and 46 by the ECP officials. He said they have not been given the record of used and unused ballot papers.

He claimed the first bag opened for recounting was unsealed and the officials replied the seal might have been broken, adding that the vote recount cannot be carried out without the provision of Form 46.

The ECP  said the vote recounting in the NA-249 constituency will continue despite a boycott by major political parties. the commission clarified that according to the chief election commissioner’s order issued on the PML-N’s petition, it is bound to recount only the votes that were polled and rejected.

ECP officials said despite the boycott, the recount process will be completed as per the order, adding that political parties were demanding data that was not possible to retrieve. 

Miftah Ismail had requested the ECP for a vote recount over irregularities on election day who argued that a large number of Form 45 were not duly signed by the presiding officers.

He also claimed and the polling agents of the party were also not given Form 46. He had further pointed out that there was a difference in the total votes recorded in Form 45 and Form 47. After hearing arguments on May 4, the ECP had ordered the recount of votes.