ISLAMABAD: Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan‘s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) moved to the Supreme Court challenging the outcome of the February 8 general elections alleging widespread rigging and claiming that their mandate was stolen due to this manipulation.
In the initial round, PTI-backed independent candidates won 180 seats in the national assembly, however, the alleged rigging reduced their seat count to only 92, thereby preventing them from returning to power
While speaking with media on Friday, PTI leader and lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat said he filed a petition in the apex court against poll fraud, adding that the appointment of election commissioner chief Sikandar Sultan Raja and other members of the electoral body has also been challenged., according to The Express Tribune.
This legal action follows the Supreme Court’s recent dismissal of a petition seeking to nullify the elections. A three-member bench led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali took up the petition filed by Brig (retd) Ali Khan. The court imposed a fine of Rs 0.5 million on the petitioner, a former Army officer, for failing to appear in court after filing the petition.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party led by another former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, won 75 seats while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has 17 seats.
Given the Constitutional provision that a party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form a government, the PML-N and the PPP have agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government.
Shehbaz Sharif from PML-N is expected to be the prime minister candidate, while PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari is likely to become the president. This potential coalition may diminish Imran Khan’s chances of returning to power.
(With inputs from agencies)
In the initial round, PTI-backed independent candidates won 180 seats in the national assembly, however, the alleged rigging reduced their seat count to only 92, thereby preventing them from returning to power
While speaking with media on Friday, PTI leader and lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat said he filed a petition in the apex court against poll fraud, adding that the appointment of election commissioner chief Sikandar Sultan Raja and other members of the electoral body has also been challenged., according to The Express Tribune.
This legal action follows the Supreme Court’s recent dismissal of a petition seeking to nullify the elections. A three-member bench led by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali took up the petition filed by Brig (retd) Ali Khan. The court imposed a fine of Rs 0.5 million on the petitioner, a former Army officer, for failing to appear in court after filing the petition.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party led by another former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, won 75 seats while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has 17 seats.
Given the Constitutional provision that a party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form a government, the PML-N and the PPP have agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a new coalition government.
Shehbaz Sharif from PML-N is expected to be the prime minister candidate, while PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari is likely to become the president. This potential coalition may diminish Imran Khan’s chances of returning to power.
(With inputs from agencies)
