Pakistan: PTI, PML-Q file petition against Mazari's ruling on CM Punjab poll

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 23 (ANI): Amid political turmoil in Pakistan's Punjab province, leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) reached Supreme Court (SC) registry in Lahore late at night and submitted a petition against CM Punjab election.
The move comes after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mazari's ruling on the Punjab Chief Minister's election about rejecting PML-Q votes, Geo News reported.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz was reelected as the chief minister (CM) of Punjab after the votes of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) were rejected by the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker.
Pervaiz Elahi - joint candidate of PTI and PML-Q - received 186 votes, while Hamza Shahbaz got 179 votes. However, 10 votes of PML-Q were cancelled by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari, hence taking the figure to 176.
Following the counting of votes, the deputy speaker, citing Article 63A of the Constitution, rejected ten votes cast by the PML-Q members. As a result, Hamza received 179 votes, while Elahi managed to bag 176 votes.
After the election, PTI's and PML-Q's parliamentary parties held a meeting and deliberated on Mazari's ruling. Later, they reached the apex court's Lahore registry to submit the petition, reported Geo News.
Meanwhile, Deputy registrar SC Lahore registry Ijaz Goraya also reached the court and received the PTI petition.
"I have come here to accept the PTI petition," he said while talking to Geo News.
While talking to media outside the SC's Lahore registry building, PTI leader Yasmeen Rashid said that "186 members of Punjab assembly are present here, therefore I request that court is opened immediately."
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan have called for protests tonight against the outcomes of the Chief Minister (CM) Hamza Shahbaz's 'surprising' victory in Punjab.
He was surprised by the happenings in the Punjab Assembly today. "Everyone is now looking to the Supreme Court (SC). Parliament has the power of morality, not the army, democracy is based on morality."
"These people are mafias, not politicians. I am surprised after witnessing what happened in the Punjab Assembly today despite the clear direction of Article 63A which defines the enforcement of the parliamentary party's decision. PTI had also sent the letter against the 25 turncoats through the parliamentary leader," said Imran Khan. (ANI)