ISLAMABAD: With hopes of taking back the Senate chairman's post, the PPP has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the returning officer’s (RO) decision rejecting the votes that the party believed were polled for their candidate.
Senator Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani filed a plea through his counsel Farooq H Naek. In the petition, Gillani has urged the court to declare the seven votes cast in his favour legal and pave the path for him to become the Senate chairman.
Gillani has told the court that the votes cast in his favour were rejected by the RO during the election for the Senate chairman on March 12.
The petition claims that the RO’s ruling on the votes was illegal and should be overturned.
Earlier this month, Sadiq Sanjrani, the PTI-led government's candidate, won a knife-edge Senate chairman election over Gillani, fielded by the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
Sanjrani received 48 votes, while Gillani bagged 42. Eight of the 99 votes in total were rejected. Seven votes had been stamped on Gilani’s name, which were also declared invalid by RO yed Muzzafar Hussain Shah.
The PPP had already announced that it would challenge the RO's ruling in court.
The IHC has accepted the petition and Chief Justice Athar Minallah will hear the case on March 24.
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