The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission has reserved its decision after completing the hearing on a petition seeking recounting of votes and alleging irregularities in the election results of LA-17 Haveli, the home constituency of AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore.
The hearing of the recounting petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz was held before the Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Kashmir.
The petition raised objections over the alleged tampering of Form 24 and irregularities in the election results. Lawyers representing the parties presented their arguments regarding the request for a recount.
According to local journalist Kashif Mir, the AJK Election Commission had cancelled the controversial Form 26 issued by the Returning Officer on August 11 concerning the Haveli election results. The commission had also declared Form 27 circulated on social media by Faisal Rathore and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders to be fake.
The Election Commission declared the petition filed by PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz maintainable and summoned both Faisal Rathore and Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz in person.
Interestingly, the Pakistan Peoples Party has been accusing the PML-N of election rigging since the first phase of elections held in the Mirpur Division. The PPP has also submitted written complaints to the Election Commission in this regard.
However, PML-N leaders, including Rana Sanaullah, Atta Tarar and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, have repeatedly described the elections in media statements as completely “free, fair and transparent.”
Now, in LA-17 Haveli, the PML-N’s own candidate has approached the Election Commission with serious allegations of electoral rigging against PPP candidate and AJK Prime Minister Faisal Rathore. However, the PML-N has so far not issued any official statement regarding the matter.
It is worth recalling that in the three-phase elections, the PML-N has so far secured the highest number of seats, while the PPP is in second place.
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