Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s candidate for NA-120 by-election Dr Yasmin Rashid has submitted a petition to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over the alleged registration of 29,000 bogus votes.
While addressing a press conference here on Monday, she maintained that NADRA could not verify 29,000 votes and she warned that they will not allow the commission to announce the results till these votes are identified. "In the voting list, they had indentified 29,000 voters whose family and CNIC numbers were missing. We had received the list a day earlier and hence we could not take up the issue with the concerned office, since government offices are closed on Saturday," she added.
"I had already said during the polling day that whatever the outcome of the NA-120 election result, I will raise the issue of 29,000 unverified votes and I will not stop till these votes are identified," she said. She told the media that in this connection she has submitted a petition with the ECP, in which she urged them to suspend the compilation and announcement of the election results till the verification of the disputed votes. "We want to know where these votes have come from," she added.
Dr Rashid also said that they have already submitted 25 petitions relating to the pre-poll rigging, but unfortunately without addressing these petitions the election was held. "No explanation was given on our petitions," she added. According to her, the ruling party used state machinery to boost their election campaign. Despite notices sent to ministers and advisors by the ECP, all of them were present during the election campaign. The government used all tactics to influence the election. Even the state television was used to promote Maryam Nawaz's election campaign, which is a serious violation of the election code.
"The ECP took no notice of these violations and I suffered the most from the pre-poll rigging. We had requested for a level playing field from the ECP and we were not given one; it did not act impartially during the election. Hence, we will take ECP to the court, as it failed to maintain its impartiality," she added. While condemning the biased attitude shown by the ECP, she claimed that it only favoured the ruling party.