LAHORE - PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid has challenged the whole process of bye-election in NA-120 in the Election Commission pleading that it should be declared null and void due to electoral irregularities which took place during the electioneering, and on the polling day.

“In view of the corrupt and illegal practices, the entire process of election should be declared null and void”, she has pleaded in her application submitted with the Provincial Election Commission through her counsel, Anis Ali Hashmi.  

Later, she addressed a news conference along with her campaign in-charge, Ejaz Ch and pointed out flaws in the electoral rolls which, according to her, did not carry the identity card numbers of 29,607 voters.  She was of the view that the issuance of ballot papers to persons whose identity card numbers were not available on the voters’ list could not be considered as voters in any manner.

She called for conduction of proper inquiry into the electoral process including verification of the disputed 29,607 voters who polled their votes on September 17. She has also demanded that official announcement of election results of NA-120 and notification of the returned candidate should not be made till further inquiry of the disputed issue.

Talking about the controversial votes, she said that instead of providing authenticated electoral lists, the commission just provided a list of persons containing only their names and addresses without their computerized identity card numbers.   

She said she would have contested the issue of unverified votes even if she had won the election. “Yesterday, I talked of taking this issue to the conclusion even when the initial results were coming in my favor”, she said.

Dr Yasmin said that she would take the Election Commission to the court if it did not take action on her application. She said she had filed 25 applications with the ECP regarding code of conduct violations by the government ministers and use of official resources but it did not go beyond issuance of notices. She said the ECP had all the executive powers to penalize the government functionaries but it just did not take the matter seriously.

“In case of PTI chief Imran Khan, the ECP ordered the deputy commissioner to stop him from coming to Data Darbar via The Mall, but it did not do the same in case of ministers who ran the election campaign with impunity”, she remarked, adding that there was a hell of difference between a minister asking for vote and a contestant belonging to an opposition party asking for vote. “Ministers can give jobs and make promises to do other favors unlike the opposition party candidates”, she observed. 

Yasmin also raised objections to the extraordinary coverage given to the election rallies of Maryam Nawaz Sharif by the state television. She also alleged that Maryam Nawaz in a meeting had asked the chairmen of Zakat committees to ask the Zakat recipients to either vote for the PML-N candidate or be prepared for stoppage of the zakat money.

She called for conduction of proper inquiry into the electoral process including verification of the disputed 29,607 voters who polled their votes on September 17. She has also demanded that official announcement of election results of NA-120 and notification of the returned candidate should not be made till further inquiry of the disputed issue.

Talking about the controversial votes, she said that instead of providing authenticated electoral lists, the commission just provided a list of persons containing only their names and addresses without their computerized identity card numbers.   

She said she would have contested the issue of unverified votes even if she had won the election. “Yesterday, I talked of taking this issue to the conclusion even when the initial results were coming in my favor”, she said.

Dr Yasmin said that she would take the Election Commission to the court if it did not take action on her application. She said she had filed 25 applications with the ECP regarding code of conduct violations by the government ministers and use of official resources but it did not go beyond issuance of notices. She said the ECP had all the executive powers to penalize the government functionaries but it just did not take the matter seriously.

“In case of PTI chief Imran Khan, the ECP ordered the deputy commissioner to stop him from coming to Data Darbar via The Mall, but it did not do the same in case of ministers who ran the election campaign with impunity”, she remarked, adding that there was a hell of difference between a minister asking for vote and a contestant belonging to an opposition party asking for vote. “Ministers can give jobs and make promises to do other favors unlike the opposition party candidates”, she observed. 

Yasmin also raised objections to the extraordinary coverage given to the election rallies of Maryam Nawaz Sharif by the state television. She also alleged that Maryam Nawaz in a meeting had asked the chairmen of Zakat committees to ask the Zakat recipients to either vote for the PML-N candidate or be prepared for stoppage of the zakat money.