LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz renewed on Sunday claims of vote fraud during a by-election for a National Assembly (NA) seat in a Sialkot constituency on Friday.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday stopped the results of the NA-75 (Sialkot-IV) by-election — a seat in Daska Tehsil of the city which fell vacant after the demise of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MP Sahibazada Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah in August.
In an unprecedented move, the election commission in a press statement said it suspected that the results of 20 polling stations in the constituency had been falsified because it received the results of the constituency with “unnecessary delay”.
Responding to the development, Maryam said that the release was a “charge sheet” against the government.
On Sunday, speaking to reporters in Lahore before leaving for Daska, she said: “The plan of rigging they made using the administration and the police had failed badly despite its implementation and the use of the worst state terrorism to enforce it.
“This is a glaring thing that they used every tactic [available] and are now out in the open and stand exposed […] they should now know their standing in the eyes of the people.”
Maryam, while referring to the violence between the workers of PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the election day, said: “They took lives and abducted ECP staff; 20 presiding officers were made missing persons.”
Unidentified suspects opened fire near five polling stations, including Main Bazar, Gondka and Rangeela Chowk polling stations, halting polling at five stations.
The incident created panic among voters. However, the situation was brought under control after the arrival of the police.
She further questioned why out of the 361 polling stations, the staff of only 20 polling stations had to go missing during the “fog” and why were the results of these polling stations suddenly changed when the officers returned after 12 hours.
“What bigger evidence is there than this,” Maryam questioned.
Maryam is expected to visit the house of a local PML-N leader, Nausheen Iftikhar, in Daska. Reports suggest she will also offer condolences to the families of the young man who was killed in election-day violence.
ECP STOPS INITIAL RESULTS:
In the press statement, the election commission had said it received the results of the constituency with “unnecessary delay”. It said it had tried to contact the presiding officers (POs) several times to ascertain the situation but achieved no success.
“The chief election commissioner tried to contact the Punjab inspector general of police, commissioner and deputy commissioner on receiving information from the district returning officer (DRO) and returning officer (RO) so the whereabouts of the presiding officers concerned could be ascertained but received no response,” read the statement.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja also contacted Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik who assured him that the results would be sent after tracing the “missing” officers and polling bags. But soon after, Malik too made himself “unavailable”, the statement said.
The presiding officers appeared along with the polling bags around six in the morning, the statement said.
“The DRO and RO of the NA-75 (Sialkot) constituency informed [the ECP] that there is a suspicion of falsification in the results from 20 polling stations.
Therefore, it is not possible to release the initial results without a complete inquiry. The DRO is sending a complete report on the matter to the Election Commission.”
The statement had said the ECP had stopped the DRO and RO from announcing the initial results for the by-election, directing them to conduct a complete inquiry and identify those responsible for the delay.
It had also directed the provincial and joint provincial election commissioners to reach the office of the DRO and RO so that “[the ECP] can reach the bottom of the matter and records can be completely protected”.
“This matter looks like a weakness of the administration and law enforcement agencies.”
