- PTI candidate seeks vote recount in NA-122, RO says contact ECP; Aleem also wants to see rejected ballots, alleges these were counted for Sadiq
- PAT candidate approaches election tribunal against NA-122 result, wants Sadiq disqualified as PML-N committed ‘technical rigging’
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday filed a petition seeking vote re-count in NA-122, Lahore, where Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Ayaz Sadiq defeated PTI’s Aleem Khan by a thin margin of around 3, 000 votes.
In his petition, Aleem Khan asked for a recount and said that the rejected ballots should be shown as he alleged that these ballots had been added by the polling staff to Ayaz Sadiq’s tally.
However, Returning Officer Zahid Iqbal refused to entertain Aleem Khan’s request, saying he was not authorised to conduct the recounting of votes and advised the applicant to approach the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Aleem had also said that electoral lists given to presiding officers and candidates were different.
Earlier, senior PTI leader and former Punjab governor Chaudhry Sarwar had said that PTI would not ask for vote re-count.
Separately an independent candidate also filed an application for recounting of his votes. He maintained that his election symbol was goat and votes given to him were counted in favour of PML-N.
Returning Officer, however, rejected both the petitions.
PAT CANDIDATE CHALLENGES NA-122 BY-POLL RESULT IN ELECTION TRIBUNAL:
Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) candidate Ishtiaq Chaudhry on Tuesday challenged result of NA-122 by-election in the election tribunal alleging that there had been massive irregularities in the re-election.
PAT candidate for NA-122, Lahore by-election Ishtiaq Chaudhry accused Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) of using government machinery to help Ayaz Sadiq win. He claimed that voters list had disappeared on the polling day.
Ishtiaq pleaded to the tribunal to disqualify Sadiq and declare the by-election results void.
He accused PML-N of “technical rigging”:
“Polling agents in several stations reached late, therefore, the voting process could not start on time and the people went back home without casting their votes,” he said.
He said that the Election Commission failed to fulfill its responsibilities and that mistakes made in 2013 General Elections were repeated once again. He demanded a re-count of votes in NA-122.
PML-N candidate Ayaz Sadiq won the by-election in NA-122 constituency of Lahore.
The seat was earlier vacated after the election tribunal ordered re-polling as it found irregularities in the 2013 election.