ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday again declared PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri the winner of Balochistan’s PB-21, Hub constituency, restoring the notification issued on December 19, 2024.
Muhammad Saleh Bhootani of Balochistan Awami Party was his main rival, who was declared returned by the then returning officer Nisar Ahmad in the February 8, 2024 general election and Zehri was third while Rajab Ali of the National Party was the runner-up.
The development of restoration of the notification has come over two years after the general election and a day after the Election Commission ordered a recount of votes polled in the constituency’s 39 polling stations “as soon
as possible but not later than three working days positively”.
However, with this restoration of the notification, the matter of recount has not ended, as it has landed now in the Islamabad High Court, which granted stay on Thursday and issued notices to the parties, and said the notification will remain suspended till the next hearing. Bhootani had moved the court against the order of the ECP, dated February 25, 2026.
As for the IHC order issued on February 26, it was noted that the petitioner (Bhootani) had sought a declaration that the ECP’s February 25 was “illegal and unlawful”. According to the order, he also sought a direction to the commission 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 IHC order said that the petitioner’s counsel contended that the February 25 order, prima facie, was “illegal and was passed in clear violation of Section 95(6) of the Elections Act, 2017”.
