QUETTA: The election tribunal of the Balochistan High Court has annulled the victory notification of PPP’s Mir Ubaidullah Gorgage for the PB-44 (Quetta VII) constituency of the Balochistan Assembly.

The tribunal, led by Justice Abdullah Baloch, has ordered repolling at 16 polling stations within the constituency.

This decision follows an election petition filed by Haji Atta Muhammad Balochzai, a National Party candidate, who challenged Mr Gorgage’s win, alleging irregularities in the voting process.

Advocate Nadir Chalgari represented the petitioner, while Advocate Amanullah Kanrani and other lawyers appeared on behalf of Mr Gorgage. Both sides presented their arguments during the tribunal’s previous hearing.

Orders repolling at 16 stations of Quetta constituency

The petitioner argued that Mr Gorgage had initially secured only 113 votes from the 16 disputed polling stations, but through fraudulent methods, including tampering with Form-45s, his vote count was falsely increased by 6,437 votes, which ultimately led to his victory.

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The petitioner also submitted his own Form-45, which showed significant discrepancies compared to the declared winner.

After examining the evidence, the tribunal issued its final ruling, cancelling the notification of Mr Gorgage’s victory issued on Feb 22, 2024 — Notification No. 2024-cord(I) No.F.2(12) — and declaring the seat vacant.

The tribunal has directed the Election Commission to conduct repolling at the 16 affected polling stations and ensure transparency by appointing new returning officers, deputy returning officers and polling staff.

Additionally, the tribunal instructed that a copy of the decision be sent to both the provincial Election Commission and the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2024