NA deputy speaker’s election declared null and void by election tribunal

The Balochistan High Court’s election tribunal on Friday declared the victory of National Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri from NA-265 as null and void and ordered reelection for the constituency.

Suri’s win from NA-265 was challenged by Nawabzada Lashkari Raisani.
The tribunal, presided by Justice Abdullah Baloch, gave the verdict.

Earlier this month, BHC’s election tribunal had reserved its verdict after Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) central leader Raisani claimed that the 2018 general elections were rigged and filed a petition against the deputy speaker’s victory.

He had urged the high court to order biometric verification of voters on NA-265.

His lawyer, Riaz Ahmed, had told the court that a total of 114,000 votes had been cast during the elections, out of which 65,000 votes were bogus and invalid.

“The election was rigged brazenly and 65,000 votes were not verified. The court has completed arguments from both the sides and reserved the judgment,” Ahmed told media outside the court.

“Documents never lie. Despite pressure on Nadra, they submitted a valid report which would unveil the truth,” he had added.

Source: Express Tribune

Picture: PoliticPK