Ali Hassan Zehri. Photo: file
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) suffered its first blow in the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) when its top leader Ali Hassan Zehri was suspended by the court as a member of the Balochistan Assembly.
The FCC referred the matter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide the request regarding the recount of votes at the 39 polling stations in Hub Constituency (PB-21).
“Leave to appeal is granted and this petition is converted into an appeal and is allowed, and the order of the Balochistan High Court dated 20 December 2024, as well as that of the Election Commission of Pakistan dated 16 December 2024, are set aside with further directions to the Election Commission of Pakistan to comply with the order of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit and to decide the applications for recount of votes in PB-21 in 39 polling stations, says a 15-page judgment written by FCC Judge Ali Baqar Najafi during the hearing of the case filed by Zahri’s opponent candidate, Muhammad Saleh Bhotani.
“If the applications for recount are decided in the affirmative, then a recount of votes will be carried out at 39 polling stations and if the applications are decided in the negative, then the process will continue in accordance with law at the earliest and preferably within a period of two months. Until then, the notification of the re-elected candidate of respondent no. 4 is stayed,” the judgment said.
The dispute has been going on since February 8, 2024, general elections.
Zehri is known to be a close confidant of President Asif Ali Zardari in Balochistan. The ruling sparked debate over the timing of the FCC’s decision. Many lawyers say Zehri’s suspension sends a clear message to PPP leaders.
Munir Ahmad Kakar, Zehri’s attorney, also raised serious questions about the FCC’s order regarding his client’s suspension as an MPA.
In its ruling, the FCC noted that “the recount is always permitted on the basis of certain evidence establishing the illegality and irregularity of the count and recount powers should be permitted sparingly after satisfaction of the materials/evidence demonstrating that there is each inclusion/exclusion of the ballot in the count.”
“The sanctity of the poll is sacrosanct and therefore should not be allowed to be violated on the basis of frivolous/vague and indefinite allegations not supported by adequate statements of detailed material facts. It should only be allowed to do full justice between the parties, without roving inquiry with a view to recovering material to declare the election void,” the order said.
The word “proceeding” is a very comprehensive term and generally means a prescribed cause of action to assert a legal right. This includes all steps taken to advance a matter in a court or tribunal from its inception to its disposal for the purpose of redress, redress of injury or damage or for the purpose of remediation.
The purpose of interpretation or construction of the word “procedure” is to understand the true intention to be understood by its clear meaning without committing any error in attaching any meaning other than that carried in its ordinary grammatical meaning attached to the word.
On the other hand, one of the petitioner’s lawyers said Bhotani deserved better since the FCC should have decided the case itself instead of referring it to the ECP.
