ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday again declared PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri the winner of Balochistan’s PB-21 (Hub) constituency.

The development comes more than two years after the 2024 general elections and a day after the electoral watchdog ordered a recounting of votes polled in the constituency’s 39 polling stations “as soon as possible but not later than 3 working days positively”.

Subsequently, the ECP said in its notification issued on Thursday: “Pursuant to the order dated February 25, 2026 passed by the ECP […] and as a result of recounting at (39) polling stations conducted by the returning officer, PB-21 Hub, the notification dated December 19 2024, is hereby restored, whereby Ali Hassan Zehri was declared the returned candidate from PB-21 Hub.”

Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court also took up the matter and directed that the operation of the Feb 25 order shall remain suspended until the next date of hearing.

The recounting saga

Originally, Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Muhammad Saleh Bhootani, who had secured more than double the votes obtained by Zehri, was declared the winner in the constituency.

But, a recount at 39 polling stations two months after the Feb 8, 2024 general elections led to Zehri being declared the winner.

While the original count had not even declared him the runner-up, the recount not only got him the top spot but also pushed down Bhootani to the third spot. After the recount, the percentage of polled votes had also changed from 55.15 per cent to 58.48pc.

The significant change in the electoral figures was linked to a saga involving the arrest of five individuals from the strong room where the electoral record had been stored. They were allegedly found with three plastic bags containing fake ballot papers and were attempting to tamper with ballot papers on Feb 11, 2024, hours after the ECP ordered a recount at 39 polling stations for the first time.

Interestingly, the increase in the number of rejected votes exactly matched the decrease in the votes originally secured by BAP’s Bhootani.

The votes secured by Bhootani were reduced from 30,910 to 17,403, translating into a difference of 13,507. The number of rejected votes increased from 3,648 to 17,155, also a rise of 13,507.

Meanwhile, the number of polled votes jumped from 76,976 to 87,483, showing an increase of 10,507 votes. Of these, 9,854 were secured by Zehri originally, taking his total from 14,120 to 23,974.

A further 441 votes were added to the tally of Rajab Ali, the initial runner-up, keeping his position unchanged, while the remaining 212 votes were distributed among other candidates, except Bhootani.

Zehri was subsequently notified as the winner from PB-21 on Dec 19, 2024.

The ECP initially ordered a recount on Feb 11, 2024, but the process was marred by violence, arrests, and allegations of fake ballots. After multiple rounds of litigation, the Supreme Court on Nov 20, 2024, annulled all proceedings and directed the ECP to decide the matter afresh.

Despite this, the electoral watchdog on Dec 16, 2024, in a split 3-2 decision, upheld the recount and notified Zehri as the winner, prompting Bhootani to approach the Balochistan High Court and later the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).

Earlier this month, the FCC suspended Zehri’s notification and directed the ECP to re-examine the pending requests for a recount.

In its judgment, the FCC observed: “Recounting is always allowed on the basis of some material establishing illegality and irregularity in the count, and the powers to recount should be exercised sparingly after satisfaction, on the basis of material or evidence, that there has been any inclusion or exclusion of ballot papers in the count.

“The sanctity of the ballot is sacrosanct and, therefore, should not be permitted to be violated on frivolous, vague or indefinite allegations not supported by adequate statements of detailed material facts. It should only be allowed to do full justice between the parties, without a roving inquiry aimed at fishing for material to declare the election void.”

Last week, Balochistan Governor Sheikh Jaffar Khan Mandokhail removed Zehri from the Sarfaraz Bugti-led provincial cabinet with immediate effect. Zehri had earlier submitted his resignation to the chief minister.

IHC issues notices on Bhootani’s plea

As the ECP kept the winner in the PB-21 constituency unchanged on Thursday, the IHC took up a plea filed by Bhootani against the ECP’s February 25 order.

Subsequently, the court noted in its written order that the petitioner had sought a declaration that the ECP’s Feb 25 was “illegal and unlawful”.

The petitioner further sought a direction to the ECP to uphold the election result as incorporated in Form-47 prepared after provisional consolidation, and also sought instructions for the returning officer to prepare Forms-48 and 49 accordingly, the order said.

Form-47 provides a detailed look at the number of votes cast and/or cancelled while Form-48 provides an insight into the number of votes cast for each candidate in a particular constituency. Form-49 is the official result of each constituency and candidate.

The IHC order further said that the petitioner’s counsel contended that the Feb 25 order, prima facie, was “illegal and was passed in clear violation of Section 95(6) of the Elections Act, 2017”.

The counsel argued that it was coram non judice (lacking proper authority) and that there was no reason or material available before the ECP to justify the order for recounting, the IHC noted.

Rather, the lawyer insisted, the ECP’s order was passed merely on the basis of a “hypothetical assumption”.

“Even otherwise, no reasons were recorded, which is mandatory under Section 95(6) of the Elections Act, therefore, the order, being coram non judice, is liable to be set aside,” the IHC order further quoted the lawyer as saying.

The counsel also argued that when the recounting order was issued, the ECP did not issue a proper notice to the petitioner, “and without affording an opportunity of hearing, passed the order in violation of Article 10-A of the Constitution”.

The counsel requested the court to issue notices to the respondents “with the direction to file their report and para-wise comments within fortnight”.

After issuing notices to the respondents, the court decided that the operation of the Feb 25 order shall remain suspended until the next hearing.