Election court in Lahore declared Yasmin Rashid’s election petition against Nawaz Sharif in NA-130 as not maintainable
Dr Yasmine Rashid. PHOTO: APPLICATION/FILE
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr Yasmin Rashid has decided to approach the court against the election tribunal’s decision in the NA-130 case, after consulting her legal team in jail.
According to his lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umar, Dr Rashid asked him to immediately challenge the court verdict. He said an application had already been filed for a certified copy of the decision and an application would be filed with the court upon receipt of the copy.
Rana Mudassar Umar further contended that the election tribunal had not properly assessed the facts of the case and rejected Dr Rashid’s election petition citing “technical reasons”.
A day earlier, an election tribunal had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s notification declaring Nawaz Sharif the winner of Lahore NA-130, rejecting a challenge filed by the PTI leader. The move ends his attempt to overturn Sharif’s victory in the February 2024 general elections in the constituency, also known as NA-130 (Lahore-XIV).
The court, presided over by Justice Rana Zahid Mahmood, dismissed Dr Rashid’s petition on technical grounds. The move means that the official result notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will remain in force. According to the published results of the February 8, 2024 elections, the three-time Prime Minister received 179,310 votes in the NA-130 election, while Dr. Rashid received 104,485 votes.
Dr Rashid had approached the court in the weeks following the poll, arguing through his lawyers that the ECP had not followed proper procedure when it notified Sharif’s victory. She alleged that the result was manipulated in Sharif’s favor and sought quashing of the notification.
2024 elections
The general elections on February 8, 2024, were followed by weeks of disputes and competing claims over the results in several constituencies, with PTI-backed candidates alleging that the results were altered during consolidation and notification.
PTI leaders publicly described the post-election process as a “mandate” issue, arguing that results should reflect polling station-level documentation (Form 45) rather than consolidated figures released later, a controversy that dominated much of the immediate political and legal fallout after the election.
These challenges were largely transferred to the electoral tribunal system, even as petitioners continued to seek redress through different forums. Months after the vote, a large majority of election petitions were still awaiting decision, citing Free and Fair Election Network monitoring that showed only a small proportion of disputes had been resolved and several courts had not resolved any cases during this period.
NA-130 was among the districts repeatedly cited in the broader debate. Before the vote, Dr Rashid’s candidacy itself was the subject of litigation, with an election appeals tribunal allowing him to run against Sharif.
After the results, she filed an appeal challenging Sharif’s victory notification in the election tribunal of the Lahore High Court, while PTI figures also claimed in public press briefings that she had led NA-130 before Sharif was declared the winner.
