ISLAMABAD: The victory notification for Awn Chaudhry, the candidate of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, has been withdrawn by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following the general elections on February 8.

Although according to ECP results, Chaudhry secured 172,576 votes while Barrister Raja received 159,024 votes in the constituency, the victory notification for Awn Chaudhry was contested by PTI-backed independent candidate Salman Akram Raja.

The decision was announced to the Islamabad High Court by the ECP’s director-general of law.

In response to a petition filed by PTI-backed independent candidate Barrister Salman Akram Raja, the Islamabad High Court nullified Awn Chaudhry’s victory from the National Assembly constituency NA-128, Lahore, and instructed the returning officer to submit a report within three days.

Barrister Raja had challenged Chaudhry’s election win, seeking the suspension of his rival candidate’s victory notification.

Earlier, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had prohibited the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from releasing the election result of the National Assembly constituency (NA-128) in Lahore, where PTI-backed independent candidate Salman Akram Raja was contesting against IPP candidate Awn Chaudhry.

These directives were issued on a petition filed by Salman Akram Raja, who claimed that the returning officer (RO) violated the election act by not releasing the election result.