ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is set to hear a unique case on Tuesday (February 24), involving an increase of 10,000 in the number of polled votes and over 13,000 in the number of rejected votes for a Balochistan Assembly seat following a controversial recount.

The recount at 39 polling stations of PB-21 (Hub) took place two months after the Feb 8, 2024 general elections. The recount had declared PPP’s Ali Hassan Zehri the winner, even though the original count had not even declared him the runner-up.

The original winner, Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Muhammad Saleh Bhootani, who had secured more than double the votes obtained by Zehri, was pushed down to the third spot. After the recount, the percentage of polled votes had also changed from 55.15 per cent to 58.48pc.

It is worth mentioning that 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 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,” it said.

It should be mentioned that 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.