The day before, the commission had issued a brief order ordering a recount at 39 polling stations in Pole PB-21.
Ali Hassan Zehri. Photo: file
In a dramatic turn of events, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued a notification declaring Ali Hassan Zehri of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) the re-elected candidate from Balochistan Assembly constituency PB-21 (Hub), just a day after ordering a recount for the seat.
A day earlier, the commission issued a short order ordering a recount at 39 polling places in Hub PB-21. The majority decision was delivered by ECP member Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan.
The 2-1 verdict said the commission accepted a request filed by Zehri and ordered a recount to be conducted at specified polling stations within three business days. However, within 24 hours of this order, the ECP declared Zehri the winner of the constituency.
“Pursuant to the order dated February 25, 2026, passed by the Election Commission of Pakistan… and following the recount in (39) polling stations carried out by the Returning Officer, PB-21 Hub, the notification dated December 19, 2024 is reinstated, whereby Ali Hassan Zehri has been declared the re-elected candidate of PB-21 Hub,” the notification issued on Thursday said.
Controversial story
The case focuses on PB-21 (Hub), where a recount conducted at 39 polling stations two months after the February 8, 2024 general election resulted in a dramatic reshuffling of results.
The recount declared PPP’s Zehri the winner, even though in the initial count he was not even placed second.
According to initial results, Muhammad Saleh Bhootani of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) had secured more than double the votes obtained by Zehri and was declared the winner.
However, after the recount, Bhootani was relegated to third place. The overall turnout rate also changed, with the percentage of votes polled increasing from 55.15 percent to 58.48 percent.
The controversy deepened after a significant change in the electoral figures was linked to the arrest of five individuals from the vault where the electoral file was kept.
The suspects were allegedly found in possession of three plastic bags containing fake ballots and were accused of attempting to tamper with ballots on February 11, 2024, just hours after the ECP first ordered a recount at all 39 polling stations.
Read: FCC suspends Zehri from PPP, narrative of orders
A closer look at the revised figures revealed abrupt numerical changes. The votes Bhootani initially received fell from 30,910 to 17,403, a reduction of 13,507 votes. At the same time, rejected votes increased from 3,648 to 17,155, an identical increase of 13,507 votes.
At the same time, the total number of votes polled increased from 76,976 to 87,483, an increase of 10,507 votes.
From this increase, 9,854 votes were added to Zehri’s total, bringing his total from 14,120 to 23,974. Rajab Ali, who was initially runner-up, got 441 more votes and retained his second position.
The remaining 212 votes were distributed among other candidates, with no additional votes allocated to Bhootani.
Zehri was officially notified as PB-21’s re-elected candidate on December 19, 2024. The ECP had initially ordered the recount on February 11, 2024, but the process was marred by violence, arrests, and allegations of fake ballots.
After protracted litigation, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on November 20, 2024 quashed all previous proceedings and ordered the ECP to adjudicate the case afresh.
Despite the directive, the ECP, in a 3-2 split decision on December 16, 2024, upheld the recount and notified Zehri as the winner. This prompted Bhootani to challenge the decision in the Balochistan High Court and then in the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).
Earlier this month, the FCC suspended Zehri’s notification and ordered the ECP to review pending recount requests.
