ECP issues victory notification for NA-131; Imran Khan triumphs against Saad Rafique
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued a victory notification for Lahore's NA-131 constituency, declaring Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan the winner of the contest against PML-N's Saad Rafique.
The notification was issued after the Supreme Court set aside the Lahore High Court's earlier order restraining the ECP from issuing the victory notification for the Lahore-IX seat.
LHC's Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh had ordered a vote recount after accepting a petition moved by Rafique, the runner-up on the seat in the July 25 General Election.
The bulk of victory notifications were sent out by the ECP on August 7. However, the commission withheld the results of nine national and 17 provincial assembly seats for various reasons. Among these is the notification for NA-53, another seat that Khan contested against PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The ECP today also issued victory notifications for two other national and two provincial assembly seats, including NA-108 (Faisalabad-VIII), NA-90 (Sargodha), PK-4 (Swat) and PB-36 (Shaheed Sikanderabad and Surab).
In NA-108, PTI's Farrukh Habib was declared the victor against PML-N runner-up Abid Sher Ali on Faisalabad-VIII after a recount.
In PB-36, Mir Niamatullah Zehri, an independent candidate who later announced he was joining the PTI, was declared the winner.
In NA-90, PML-N's Hamid Hameed remained the victor, with PTI's Nadia Aziz runner-up after a recount.
In PK-4, PTI's Azizullah Khan beat PML-N's Amir Muqam after a recount.