A day earlier, the commission had issued a short order ordering a recount in 39 polling stations in the PB-21 Axis.
Ali Hassan Zehri. Photo: archive
In a dramatic turn of events, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued a notification declaring Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Ali Hassan Zehri as the returned candidate from Balochistan Assembly constituency PB-21 (Hub), barely a day after ordering a recount for the seat.
A day earlier, the commission had issued a brief order ordering a recount at 39 polling stations in the PB-21 center. The majority decision was delivered by ECP member Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan.
The 2-1 verdict declared that the commission had accepted a request submitted by Zehri and ordered that a recount be carried out at the specified polling stations within three business days. However, within 24 hours of that order, the ECP declared Zehri the winner of the constituency.
“Pursuant to the order dated February 25, 2026, passed by the Election Commission of Pakistan… and as a result of the recount at (39) polling stations by the returning officer of PB-21 Centre, the notification dated December 19, 2024, by which Ali Hassan Zehri was declared returned candidate of PB-21 Centre, is hereby reinstated,” the notification issued on Thursday said.
Controversial count
The case centers on PB-21 (Hub), where a recount conducted at 39 polling stations two months after the February 8, 2024 general election resulted in a dramatic reshuffling of the results.
The recount declared Zehri of the PPP the winner, although in the original recount he had not even come in second place.
According to initial results, Muhammad Saleh Bhootani of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) had obtained more than double the votes obtained by Zehri and was declared the winner.
However, after recounting, Bhootani fell to third place. The overall turnout figure also changed: the percentage of votes polled increased from 55.15 percent to 58.48 percent.
The controversy deepened after a significant alteration in the electoral figures was linked to the arrest of five individuals from the vault where the electoral records were kept.
The suspects were allegedly found in possession of three plastic bags containing fake ballots and were charged with attempting to tamper with the ballots on February 11, 2024, just hours after the ECP first ordered a recount at all 39 polling stations.
Read: FCC suspends Zehri from PPP and orders recount
A closer examination of the revised figures revealed sharp numerical changes. The votes originally polled by Bhootani fell from 30,910 to 17,403, a reduction of 13,507 votes. At the same time, rejected votes increased from 3,648 to 17,155, an identical increase of 13,507 votes.
Meanwhile, the total number of votes surveyed increased from 76,976 to 87,483, reflecting an increase of 10,507 votes.
Of this increase, 9,854 votes were added to Zehri’s tally, raising his total from 14,120 to 23,974. Rajab Ali, who had originally been second, received an additional 441 votes and maintained his second position.
The remaining 212 votes were distributed among other candidates, with no additional votes credited to Bhootani.
Zehri was formally notified as a returned PB-21 candidate on December 19, 2024. The ECP had initially ordered the recount on February 11, 2024, but the process was marred by violence, arrests and accusations of fake votes.
After protracted litigation, on November 20, 2024, the Supreme Court of Pakistan quashed all previous proceedings and ordered the ECP to decide the matter afresh.
Despite the directive, the ECP, in a 3-2 split decision on December 16, 2024, confirmed the recount and notified Zehri as the winner. This led Bhootani to challenge the decision before the Balochistan High Court and subsequently before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).
Earlier this month, the FCC suspended Zehri’s notice and ordered the ECP to re-examine pending recount requests.
