LAHORE – Supreme Court ordered recount of votes in three National Assembly constituencies, overturning previous Lahore High Court decision and reinstating ECP ruling.
The apex court accepted appeals from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders and ordered recounts in NA-79 Gujranwala, NA-81 Gujranwala, and NA-154 Lodhran.
The verdict, reached by 2-1 majority, was supported by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, while Justice Aqeel Abbasi opposed it.
It all started when PML-N’s Azhar Nahra contested LHC’s decision to suspend his victory notification for NA-81. Initially, PTI-backed independent candidate Chaudhry Bilal was declared the winner by a margin of 7,791 votes in the 2024 general elections. However, after Nahra requested a recount, electoral watchdog declared Nahra winner with a margin of 3,100 votes, dismissing around 10,000 of Nahra’s votes as invalid.
Imran Khan’s party leader then the ECP’s decision in the LHC, which, on April 4, annulled Nahra’s victory notification for NA-81.
Lahore High Court ruled that Election Commission could not handle complaints about election disputes once the election tribunals were operational.
