RO withholds notification on NA-15 Mansehra results

MANSEHRA: The Returning Officer for NA-15 Mansehra-II on Sunday withheld the notification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) -backed independent candidate Shahzada Gustasap Khan’s success.

The RO Hajrah Samee withheld the form 49 of the PTI-backed aspirant Shahzada Gustasap Khan after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) challenged his form 47 in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The PMLN supreme leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was one of the contestants, through his counsel Jehangir Khan Jadoon Advocate moved a petition with Chief Election Commission of Pakistan Sikandar Sultan Raja. He pleaded with him to withhold results of NA-15 to meet justice and for fair and free elections.

“The ECP has withheld the results of Shahzada Gustasap Khan and so TO Hajrah Samee couldn’t notify him as successful,” an official told reporters.Meanwhile, RO of NA-14 Babar Khan Tanoli, notified form 49 of PMLN’s only successful contestant across the Hazara division, Sardar Mohammad Yousuf.

Sardar Mohammad Yusuf was the only PMLN contestant in seven national assembly constituencies in the Hazara division who could return in the February 8 general elections while five were won by the independents backed by the PTI.

The RO Babar Khan Tanoli notified PMLN contestant, Sardar Mohammad Yousuf, as successful with a total of 1,15,442 votes while his rival and PTI-backed independent, Saleem Imran Swati, could secure 1,03,350 votes.

“The entire process of election commission at the district level has been completed in NA-14 and the returning officer concerned notified me as successful through form 49,” Yusuf told reporters.

He said that though his rivals made all possible efforts to ditch him here but he met with complete failure and succeeded in recapturing the constituency lost by his son Sardar Shahjehan Yusuf owing to rigging in the 2018 general elections.