Election body’s notification stands as Yasmin Rashid’s petition is rejected on technical grounds
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Photo: Screen grab
LAHORE:
An election tribunal has upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s notification declaring Nawaz Sharif the winner in Lahore’s NA-130, dismissing a challenge filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Dr Yasmin Rashid.
The decision ends her bid to overturn Sharif’s victory in the February 2024 general election from the constituency, also known as NA-130 (Lahore-XIV).
The tribunal, headed by Judge Rana Zahid Mahmood, rejected Dr Rashid’s petition on technical grounds. The ruling means 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 election, the three-time prime minister secured 179,310 votes in NA-130, while Dr Rashid polled 104,485.
Dr Rashid had approached the tribunal in the weeks following polling, arguing through her lawyers that the ECP failed to follow proper procedure when it notified Sharif’s victory. She alleged that the result had been manipulated in his favour and sought to have the notification set aside.
Her legal team contended that the outcome was based on incorrect documentation and flawed processes. They argued that the ECP’s consolidated results, commonly referred to in public debate as Form-47, contradicted the polling-station level results recorded on Form-45, which they claimed showed a different outcome.
Form-45 is the official “result of the count” prepared at each polling station and signed by election staff. It has been repeatedly cited by PTI-backed candidates in post-election challenges across the country following the 2024 general election, forming the basis of multiple petitions contesting official results.
The tribunal’s decision in NA-130 is among several rulings awaited in election disputes filed after the February polls, as courts continue to examine challenges centred on alleged discrepancies between polling-station records and consolidated results.
2024 elections
The 8 February 2024 general election was followed by weeks of disputes and competing claims over results in multiple constituencies, with PTI-backed candidates alleging that outcomes were altered during consolidation and notification. PTI leaders publicly described the post-poll process as a “mandate” issue, arguing that results should reflect polling-station level documentation (Form-45) rather than the consolidated figures issued later, a controversy that dominated much of the immediate post-election political and legal fallout.
Those challenges were largely pushed into the election tribunal system, even as petitioners continued seeking relief through different forums. Months after the vote, a large majority of election petitions were still awaiting decisions, citing Free and Fair Election Network tracking that showed only a small proportion of disputes had been decided and that several tribunals had not resolved any cases during that period.
NA-130 was among the constituencies repeatedly cited in the wider debate. Before polling, Dr Yasmin Rashid’s candidacy itself went through litigation, with an election appellate tribunal allowing her to contest against Sharif.
After the results, she filed a challenge to Sharif’s victory notification at the Lahore High Court election tribunal, while PTI figures also claimed in public briefings that she had been leading in NA-130 before Sharif was declared the winner.
