Form 45, 47 not final determination on votes recount: CJP

Islamabad: The Supreme Court Wednesday issued a written decision on the recounting of votes and election rigging in Balochistan's Naseerabad district.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa issued a four-page decision.

The Supreme Court said in the decision that the ballot papers cast in the elections are the main evidence in the election dispute. If the recount request is approved, it is conducted in the presence of all the candidates. There is no case before the court that the seals of election bags are broken.

The decision stated that after the completion of the voting, the presiding officer prepares Form 45 of the polling station. After counting the votes of the Form 45 sent by the presiding officer, the returning officer issues the Form 47. According to the Form 47, the Returning Officer (RO) sends the result to the Election Commission.

In the written judgment of the Supreme Court, it was said that only the cast ballot papers determine the actual results. If there is a recount after opening the bags, Forms 45 and 47 cannot be called final determination. Until the order for a recount comes, Forms 45 and 47 are held to be correct. In this case, the appellant sought a recount which was granted and the votes of the winning candidate turned out to be less and the votes of the appellant were also reduced.

According to the decision, the first winning candidate was successful despite the reduced number of votes in the recount. The appellant's counsel could not be convinced of the victory and therefore the appeal is dismissed. The decision of the Election Tribunal is upheld. The appellant's allegation of the relationship of the respondent with the presiding officers could not be proven. These allegations were denied by the respondent. There were 96 polling stations in this constituency and the presiding officer of each polling station counted the votes at the end of the election.

According to the Supreme Court, under Section 90(10) of the Election Act and Rule 81(1) of the Election Rules, 2017, Form 45 is required to be prepared. After receiving Form 45 from all Presiding Officers, the Returning Officer counts the votes and issues Form 47 under section 92 and rule 84(1) of the Act. The Returning Officer submits the final consolidated result to the Election Commission under section 98(1) and rule 88(1) of the Election Act. The cast ballot papers are the decisive factors. The number of votes recorded in the required forms by the presiding officer or RO on ordering a recount is not final. The ballot papers cast are the primary evidence of the election results.

The Supreme Court said in the judgment that a presumption of correctness attaches to the said forms unless a recount of the ballot papers is ordered, a candidate can request a recount of votes. If the request is granted, all candidates are notified. The votes are recounted in the presence of all those who participate in the election.