Islamabad [Pakistan], May 12 (ANI): Reiterating the allegation of rigging in elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders said on Saturday that poll documents were manipulated to reduce the margins of poll victory of the party-supported independent candidates, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
While addressing a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club, former provincial ministers Taimur Jhagra and Kamran Khan Bangash and advocates Ali Zaman and Malik Shahab made a detailed multimedia presentation showing comparisons of official election results documents, including Forms 45, 47, and 49, to prove their claims regarding rigging of poll results.
All four PTI leaders, who were named by the party for the polls and contested for different provincial assembly seats as independents, claimed electoral victory. However, the relevant returning officers declared their rival candidates as winners.
The PTI leaders said a scrutiny of the election documents released by the Election Commission of Pakistan on its website had massive discrepancies and result manipulation.
Kamran Khan Bangash said the partiality of Pakistan’s electoral body was evident to all and the proof coming out every other day further shows how PTI’s mandate were taken away by “manipulation and fabrication” of election documents, according to Dawn report.
He said there was a lot of concern among PTI workers about the health of PTI founder Imran Khan and demanded his medical examination without delay, as suggested by the doctors.
Taimur Jhagra said PTI-backed candidate Meena Khan was declared Member of Provincial Assembly after she defeated Awami National Party leader Samar Haroon Bilour in the PK-83 constituency. However, the ECP documents later showed a drastic reduction in the victory margin.
He said, “Poll results compiled by the ECP show that Meena Khan secured 38,117 votes against 33,500 votes of Samar Bilour with a victory margin of 4,617 votes. However, like the nine other constituencies in Peshawar where results were changed to deprive the PTI nominees of their victory, the evidence of blatant rigging has been left unchanged in relation to PK-83 Peshawar and uploaded on the ECP website.”
Jhagra alleged that poll results were changed for 65 of the 141 polling stations, while the votes of PTI nominee and the runner-up were swapped in 53 polling stations. He added that Form 48 showed the tabulated official results of the PK-83 elections. However, the original Form 45 of the polling stations was kept.
He said, “When Forms 45 on the ECP website are examined together, the margin of victory of Meena Khan increased from 4,617 votes to 43,329 votes, while the PTI’s voter share increased from 38 per cent to 59 per cent.”
The PTI leaders shared details of election results discrepancies from nine Peshawar constituencies, including one National Assembly and eight provincial assembly ones, where PTI nominees’ rivals were declared winners.
The PTI leaders alleged that 100,000 votes were added to the tally of 38,000 votes of JUI-Fazl’s candidate Noor Alam Khan in the NA-28 constituency to declare him victorious, Dawn reported.
Jhagra said that according to the original Form 45, PTI leader Arbab Jahandad secured victory in PK-74 as he received 44 per cent of the total votes. However, his votes were reduced to 23 per cent in Form 47 before runner-up Ijaz Nahqi was declared winner.
He noted that the election results of 55 of the 100 polling stations in that constituency were changed, following which, the voter turnout in seven stations was even recorded at 153 per cent, while it was declared at more than 90 per cent in 26 polling stations.
The PTI leaders said Malik Tariq Awan was declared successful in PK-82 after Pakistan’s electoral watchdog changed election results in 57 of the total 90 polling stations. They said that votes of Kamran Bangash, who had got 55 per cent of the total votes and votes of Tariq Awan were swapped in the manipulated Forms 45.
They stated that Jalal Khan, who received only 1,600 votes was named winner in PK-79 after election results were manipulated in 64 of the 66 polling stations. They added that fake Form 45 demonstrated tampering and overwriting on all those stations.
The PTI leaders said Ali Zaman and Malik Shahab Hussain received 43 per cent and 45 per cent of the total votes in PK-73 and Pk-75, respectively. However, their votes were reduced to 11 per cent and 30 per cent and rival candidates were declared winners, as per the Dawn report.
Pakistan held its 12th national general election on February 8, amid allegations of rigging and the shutdown of cellular and internet services. The PTI dominated the election results, with the highest number of successful candidates in the February 8 general elections. However, the party has alleged rigging in the polls. (ANI)
