ISLAMABAD


Central leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jahangir Khan Tareen, has accused a few returning officers of favouring certain candidates to change the election results and urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold recounting of votes in 25 constituencies of the National Assembly, including NA-154, on the basis of thumb impression verification.
Tareen, a famous politician as well as businessman from South Punjab, put forward this demand before the ECP while addressing a press conference called at a short notice on Tuesday. "Returning officers mafia played a trick during recently held elections. They favoured the candidates of their choice across the country and left no stone unturned to change the result in favour of their candidates. This is what happened in the constituency from where I contested polls," Tareen told media persons flanked by PTI Information Secretary Shireen M Mazari.
Tareen held the returning Officers responsible for changing results of NA-154, the constituency he contested from, and urged the Election commission of Pakistan to verify the recount of votes through thumbs' impression.
Tareen told media that initial results of 200 polling stations of NA-154 showed him winner. However, the returning officers conspired with his opponent to defeat him.
"Even the independent TV channels had declared me victorious on the election day but on the next morning I was declared as defeated with 10,000 votes. I believe, returning officers rigged in midnight," Tareen told media.
To support his argument, Tareen presented an overview of accounts that reported misappropriations at the hands of the electoral staff and urged ECP to refurnish results in several constituencies including his home constituency, NA-154 Lodhran. "My application for recount had been kept pending for three days after 14 May. All of my attempts to access to the record were countered by the returning officers. I want the Election Commissioner to take notice of rigging and act accordingly," Tareen said.
He told media that out of 220 bags, the seals on 170 polling bags was broken while counter foils of around 26,500 ballot papers were without the signatures and seals of assistant presiding officers.
"Marked electoral rolls from five polling stations were missing while 934 unused ballot papers were also absent from the record," he said, adding that it was a classic example of poll rigging by none other than the returning officers.
Dr Mazari questioned the ECP's decision to charge candidates for a thumb impression audit. "It is injustice to make the aggrieved candidate pay for the expenses to be occurred for a thumb impression's audit," she said, adding the ECP should revisit the decision.