Balochistan Assembly seat: ECP restores legislative membership of Ali Hassan

ISLAMABAD: A day after ordering a vote recount at 39 polling stations of a Balochistan Assembly seat, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Thursday, restored the provincial legislative membership of Ali Hassan Zehri on the said seat, who was the Agriculture Minister in Balochistan government, before his provincial assembly membership was suspended by the electoral body, pursuant to a court order issued earlier this month.

Zehri from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had contested the February 2024 general election on Balochistan Assembly’s seat PB-21 Hub. He ended up third with 14,120 votes, whereas Saleh Bhotani from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) was declared by the poll body as returned candidate with 30,910 votes, followed by Rajab Ali Rind of National Party (NP) with 17,000 votes.

The poll results clearly indicated that Bhotani had bagged more than twice the votes Zehri had received in the February 2024 general election.

Still, Zehri had moved an application for a vote recount with the returning officer of PB-21, a day after the 8 February 2024 general poll.

Thereafter, the legal battle between Zehri and Bhotani continued in the election tribunal and superior courts. Zehri was declared as returned candidate for PB-21.

On a petition moved by Bhotani, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) suspended Zehri’s BA membership on 4 February, and directed the ECP to decide whether or not to hold a vote recount at the 39 polling stations of the BA.

Zehri was the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperative Department when the FCC suspended his legislative membership.

Earlier on Wednesday, a three-member ECP bench, comprising Nisar Durrani, Babar Bharwana and Justice Ikram Ullah Khan (retd), with a majority vote of 2-1, ordered a vote recount at 39 polling stations of PB-21. Bharwana issued a dissenting note supporting re-election in PB-21 instead of a vote recount.

The next day (Thursday), the ECP appeared in a haste to issue a notification which read that pursuant to its order dated 25 February, in the case titled “Ali Hassan Zehri versus Muhammad Saleh Bhotani,” and as a result of vote recount at the 39 polling stations conducted by the RO of PB-21 Hub, the notification stood restored whereby Zehri was declared as returned candidate for PB-21 Hub.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026