PTI showcases ‘evidence’ against rigging

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Friday termed the February 8 polls the biggest vote fraud and a major assault on democracy, as its ‘candidates were clearly winning more than 177 National Assembly seats “but the party was deprived of 85 NA seats by stealing the public mandate in the midnight robbery”.

Several party-backed candidates gathered here at a local hotel before the local and international media to present their case. Presentations were given, video clips showed and Form 45 and other documents were also displayed to substantiate, what they alleged, the poll fraud narrative.

The PTI leaders and the party-backed candidates called the last week’s elections as the mega polls robbery, alleging the result mentioned on Form 45 was not reflected on form 47 and this way, massive discrepancies were created. A document on data comparison between Form 45 and Form 47 was also shared with the media, about different NA constituencies, including Islamabad Capital Territory’s three seats, Rawalpindi NA-53, 55, 56, 57, Attock NA-49, 50, Chakwal NA-58, Jhelum NA-60, Gujrat NA-64, Sialkot NA-71, TT Singh NA-106, Lahore NA-126, 128, and other districts. According to this document, PTI-backed candidates were shown winning convincingly as per the Form 45 but were defeated in Form 47.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI Information Secretary Raoof Hasan stated that the people attached high hopes with the long-delayed general elections that the exercise would bring political and economic stability and would help restore rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.

However, he said, tragically it was one of the worst and biggest votes fraud inflicted on the PTI, as the party was fraudulently deprived of its constitutional mandate, claiming that the party got around 177 NA seats in the 2024 elections as per the Form 45 but 85 seats were fraudulently snatched from the party during “midnight polls robbery”, and only 92 were awarded to them.

He continued that the mega polls theft could be judged from the fact that there were shocking discrepancies between Form 45 and Form 47, which was a blatant attempt to undermine PTI’s mandate as well as democracy. He pointed out how large scale discrepancies between the votes polled in the national as well as provincial assemblies were created and that in several constituencies the rejected votes were more than the margin of victory between the candidates.

Hasan said that the party had verified data concerning 46 seats and was in the process of compiling information for the remaining 39 seats which would soon be completed.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI-backed candidate from NA-128 Salman Akram Raja termed the alleged rigging in elections an assault on democracy and explained usually rigging was carried out in the polling stations in the past but this time around it was very tragic and shocking that rigging was done at RO offices and in the process of tabulation in the midnight.

The renowned lawyer claimed that he was winning by a huge margin at every polling station before being thrown out of the RO office in Lahore, adding that it was virtually a death to democracy because factitious results were prepared, putting serious question mark on viability and utility of the expensive elections exercise if really public mandate was not respected and accepted.

Salman Akram Raja said that every election would be farce; hence they have to take up the gauntlet to reverse the farce or else it would be death to democracy. He underscored the need for transparency and fairness in the election process to uphold democracy, a key to ensuring stability in the country.

He dubbed the incidents of the election night and February 9 a ‘massive assault’ on democracy and alleged that ‘fictitious’ Form 47 was created and form 45 ‘tampered with’.

He wondered, “What is the point in holding an election if you are going to create a result out of thin air? Such an exercise means death for democracy in Pakistan. This was not just an election fraud, it was a wholesale assault on democracy in Pakistan.”

Salman Akram regretted that the PTI, its leaders and workers were subjected to all kinds of coercive measures, and an atmosphere of fear was created but still people roared back and registered a historic turnout.

He vowed that they would take the issue of ‘mega poll robbery’ to its logical end come what may because the PTI was the only political party that emerged as the sole federal political party.

Another PTI-backed candidate Rehana Dar, the mother of senior party leader Usman Dar, claimed that results were tampered with at the RO office to ensure PMLN’s Khawaja Asif’s victory, adding that the people of Silakot voted for the PTI but the results were changed.

Rehana Dar said she decided to contest the election from Sialkot after police raided her house at the alleged behest of Khawaja Asif. She also announced filing a case against District Police Officer (DPO) Iqbal Hassan for raiding her house. She appealed to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for the provision of justice like Nosheen Iftikhar in Daska.

She remarked, “I, a single mother, came out against the cruelty that was unleashed on me and broke the idols of fear”. She expressed gratitude towards the people of Sialkot for their ‘unwavering support’ during her tumultuous journey, highlighting their solidarity amidst challenging circumstances. She said that all votes cast for her were in favour of Imran Khan.

“I said let’s do politics and not injustice. Fairness and integrity in the political landscape is imperative. I have all Form 45 documents, which validated my victory,” she stressed.

PTI-backed returned candidate from Peshawar Shandana Gulzar gave a presentation on the ‘large scale rigging’ that allegedly took place in the elections across the country, pointing out disparities in the allocation of seats compared to the party’s vote count.

She said that there was a sheer scale of vote theft, as the PTI’s candidates clear leads were converted into a defeat through poll theft in middle of the night. She charged that the country-wide robbery via Form 47 was committed in violation of Section 92 of the Elections Act 2017.

“We obtained 1.25 million votes in Karachi, yet we did not get a single seat. Similarly, the Jamaat-e-Islami secured 700,000 votes but did not get a single NA seat in the mega city,” she pointed out.

She claimed the party-backed candidates got 13.6 million votes but were given 55 seats in Punjab, calling it a joke with the people of Pakistan. She displayed related graphic details on a screen. She said that as per the results at 03:00 am on February 9, the PTI had won 154 seats in the National Assembly, while the PMLN and PPP had each got 47.

The PTI-backed candidates, she continued, were winning 42 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but they were given 37 and the rest were stolen from them. She added that similarly, from Islamabad, they were winning all three seats, which were eventually taken away.

“In Punjab, we were winning 115 NA seats and only 55 have been given to us. And in Balochistan, the party secured victory on seven NA seats but it was given only one seat in the province.”

PTI-backed candidate from NA-57 Seemabia Tahir said that the party-backed candidates had all solid documented and video proof against the countrywide ‘mega polls robbery’, depriving the PTI of its clear majority. She pointed out that scale of robbery could be judged from the massive country-wide protests, which clearly reflected the public anger against snatching of their mandate.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI-backed independent candidate from Chakwal Ayaz Amir said that in his constituency, the one thing done early in the evening was that the office of the returning officer (RO) was sealed.

He remarked the RO’s office was sealed by the police and the ‘caretakers of the caretakers’. Ayaz added that he visited the RO office at 6:00 pm on the election-day but he was removed between 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm, which means that the RO and other people were there and they could do what they wanted to.

Ayaz Amir said that he was in possession of the original Form 45 obtained from all polling stations in his constituency.

PTI leader Khurram Sher Zaman, who contested from Karachi, alleged how in a daylight robbery, during the polls, NA seats were given to MQMP, as he highlighted discrepancies in the vote count.

Among those present on the occasion, included Tahir Sadiq, Munawar Mughal and Shaukat Basra.

Separately, PTI’s senior member Ali Muhammad Khan, who earlier met the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan, posted the related details on his social account and said he met Imran Khan. Sardar Latif Khosa and Amir Dogar were also present in the meeting. He revealed that Imran will contest from Mianwali for an NA seat.

“Masha Allah, he was in good health and looked happy. The meeting lasted for about half an hour. It was great to meet my leader after such a long time. He was very happy to hear about the historic victory of Mardan. He was also aware of my jail days in Adiala and was happy that you had spent time in jail from Jawanmardi [manly],” he wrote.

Ali Muhammad quoted Imran Khan asking how many days of captivity were there? He told him that there were 78 days. He also asked Dogar about his jail days. He was also very happy with his victory in Multan. When Sardar Latif Khosa told Imran that he won his seat in Lahore which is a trust of the PTI founder, Imran Khan said that no he will contest from Mianwali seat, Insha Allah.

“I am deeply grateful for the appreciation of my leader. I had a detailed discussion with the leader of the nation on the issues of the nation. He has given many necessary instructions which we will inform you about later. The biggest thing that Khan Sahib has done is that after coming to power, they will follow the Makkah model,” Ali said.

He quoted Imran as telling him that “we will not take any political revenge, but we will take the country and the nation forward. Khan sahib also referred to Nelson Mandela’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission that truth and forgiveness have to be taken forward to take the country forward. The PTI will take Pakistan towards political stability and development, not revenge, after coming to power. Insha Allah salute to the thinking and big heart of the leader of the nation.