| Citation(s) |
|---|
| 2026 SLG 1944 2026 SLD 1944 |
W.P. no.1087/2023
Presented By: (Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan) Judge
5 19.04.2023 M/s Qaiser Imam, Hasan Javed and Ch. Shujah Ullah Gondal, Advocates for the petitioner Mr. Ghulam Shabbir Shah, Awadh Anwar Khan and Raja Shakil Abbasi, Advocates for provisionally successful candidates Mr. Saad Hassan, Advocate for the respondent ECP Mr. Zaigham Anees, Law Officer, ECP.
Raja Arif Sultan Minhas
VERSUS
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) through its Chairman and others
Law: Election Act, 2017
Section: 9, 219, 229
Law: Constitution of Pakistan 1973
Section: 100
Tagline
Recount vs. Repoll under Section 9: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must objectively evaluate whether a repoll or a recount is the more appropriate remedy when exercising its statutory powers under Section 9 of the Elections Act, 2017. While Section 9 grants pre-consolidation jurisdiction to address electoral unfairness, any order directing a recount without evaluating whether the scale of alleged irregularities warrants a repoll is unsustainable, leaving deep factual controversies to be resolved by the competent Election Tribunal.
Summary
This writ petition challenged an order of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) directing a recount in six constituencies of a local government election without considering whether a repoll was a more appropriate remedy.
The counsel for the provisionally successful candidates argued that election disputes could only be challenged through an election petition before an Election Tribunal, and that Section 9 of the Elections Act, 2017 was inapplicable to local government elections, rendering the ECP’s intervention jurisdictionless. Conversely, the petitioners contended that where a reasonable suspicion of electoral unfairness exists, the ECP must order a repoll instead of a recount.