ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an appeal of former chief minister of Punjab, Ch Pervaiz Elahi, seeking to be declared as successful candidate from NA-61 Chakwal-II after the resignation of PML-N MNA Sardar Muhammad Faiz Tamman from the constituency in July. A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, questioned the appellant as to how he moved the apex court when his plea on the matter was referred by the Election Tribunal to a local commission, where it was pending for adjudication. Chaudhry Farooq Haider, counsel for Ch. Pervaiz Elahi, pleaded the court to declare his client a successful candidate from NA-61 Chakwal after former MNA Faiz Tamman had resigned from the constituency. Farooq said that his client had obtained 91,969 votes, whereas his opponent Faiz Tamman had got 92,201 votes in February 18, 2008 general elections. Pervaiz Elahi lost election with the difference of 432 votes. The Election Commission rejected 11,396 votes. The former chief minister claimed that most of the rejected votes were in his favour, therefore, after the resignation of Faiz Tamman, even if 11,396 rejected votes are not counted, his client was entitled to be declared as returned candidate. Justice Rauf Ahmed Sheikh of the Lahore High Court was acting as the election tribunal. The Lahore High Court had earlier stayed the process of by-elections in Chakwal scheduled for August 25 on the petition of Pervaiz Elahi who had said that fresh election could not be held till his election petition challenging the 2008 election results was decided. The PML leader had contested before the LHC that under Section 75 of the Representation of the People Act 1976, the election petition should have been decided ex-parte in his favour after the respondent did not contest the challenge to his election as an MNA and later resigned. PML-N MNA Faiz Tamman, who was elected from NA-61 Chakwal, had resigned on July 2, which was accepted by the National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza. In 2002 general elections, he was elected MNA as an independent candidate from NA-61 and joined PPP. But later he drifted into the camp of Pakistan Muslim League (PML). In 2008 elections, PML did not give him the ticket to contest elections, thus he moved to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and defeated the PML candidate Ch Pervaiz Elahi after tough competition in the election.