RAWALPINDI, July 20(ABC): A returning officer (RO) has rejected PTI candidate Shabbir Awan’s plea for a vote recount in Rawalpindi’s PP-7 after PML-N candidate Raja Sagheer emerged victorious by a thin margin of 49 votes in the Punjab by-polls held on July 17, reported.
According to the unofficial and unverified result of PP-7, PML-N’s Ahmed won the seat with 68,906 votes, however, PTI’s Awan managed to bag 68,857 votes.
Following the narrow margin defeat by 49 votes, the PTI candidate challenged the results and filed an application to recount votes in the constituency.
According to sources, the RO, in a reserved verdict, said that all polling agents were present at the time of the result announcement, and therefore, recounting of votes will not be conducted.
The sources further cited the RO as saying that the PTI candidate failed to provide any solid evidence for a vote recount in the constituency.
“Therefore, due to lack of evidence, PTI’s plea was rejected, however, only rejected votes will be re-checked,” said a verdict, citing sources.
During the Punjab by-polls on July 17, PTI won in at least 15 out of 20 constituencies, while PML-N only clinched victory in four. An independent candidate also managed to get one seat.