PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court (PHC) issued a detailed judgment on Friday in a case filed by independent candidates challenging the alleged differences in forms 47 and 45 of the general elections.
In a three-page judgment written by Justice Shakeel Ahmed, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was directed to thoroughly investigate the concerns raised by the petitioners in accordance with the law, APP reported. Specifically, the ECP was instructed to carefully scrutinize Forms 45 and 47, especially the Forms 45 in possession of the applicants. Furthermore, the judgment said that Returning Officers must permit the petitioners to compile the election results as outlined in Section 95 of the Election Act, 2017.
It further stated that if the ROs have already completed the compilation of the results, then the applicants should contact the appropriate forum, which is Election Commission of Pakistan. The court instructed the election commission to hear and address the petitioners in accordance with the law before the issuance of the official gazette notification. It stated that during the process of assembling the results, the petitioners complained that there had been a violation of Sections 92 and 95 of the Election Act. —APP
