The ruling PML-N lost two of its National Assembly seats on Tuesday after separate benches of the Lahore High Court set aside the victory notifications of its lawmakers elected from Gujranwala and Lodhran.
In addition, another PML-N MNA from Nankana Sahib had his victory notification suspended on a petition filed by his PTI-backed opponent.
Meanwhile, incarcerated PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid has challenged former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s victory from Lahore’s NA-130 constituency before an LHC election tribunal.
On Tuesday, LHC Justice Shahid Karim passed an order against NA-81 (Gujranwala) MNA Azhar Qayum Nahra, allowing a petition by PTI-backed independent candidate Chaudhry Bilal Ijaz.
The Bahawalpur bench of the Lahore High Court unseated Abdul Rehman Kanjoo, the PML-N MNA from NA-154 Lodhran, and declared the petitioner, PTI-backed Rana Faraz Noon, as the winner.
Also on Tuesday, the LHC suspended the victory notification of PML-N’s Rana Arshad from NA-133, Nankana Sahib.
Filed through her lawyers, Ahmed Awais and Rana Mudassir, the former Punjab health minister’s petition argued that the ECP issued Mr Sharif’s victory notification in violation of the law.
Separately on Tuesday, the ECP suspended the victory notification of Balochistan Assembly Speaker Abdul Khaliq Khan Achakzai from PB-51, Chaman.
The notification has been suspended until the outcome of re-polling at 12 polling stations, scheduled for April 21, along with by elections in 23 national and provincial assembly constituencies and a re-election in PB-51 (Qila Abdullah).
Meanwhile, the commission also notified Sadaf Ihsan as a returned candidate for the seat reserved for women in the National Assembly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The notification of her victory was suspended on March 4 after the JUI-F complained that she was not among the names the party had submitted for election to reserved seats.
