Citing massive irregularities, PTI challenges NA-120 by-poll result

In a plea filed with the ECP, the party expresses reservations on the legitimacy of 29,000 votes cast

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) challenged on Tuesday the result of the NA-120 constituency by-election in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), nearly two months after the poll was held.

On September 17, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Kulsoom Nawaz had easily won the seat, bagging 59,413 votes against PTI's Dr Yasmin Rashid who secured 46,145 votes.

The seat was vacated following Nawaz Sharif's disqualification under the top court's Panama Papers verdict in July this year.



According to Express News, the party has alleged massive irregularities and discrepancies in the polls, requesting the election authorities to look into, what it called, systematic manipulation of results.

Later, talking to reporters, Yasmin Rashid said the Lahore High Court had sought a list of 29,000 voters, which the ECP provided on the evening of Saturday, a day before the polls.

However, she added, the 100-page list revealed that 30 per cent of the voters were residing abroad, while as many were not even alive. According to the PTI leader, votes were cast even in the name of the deceased. Rashid said that there was also a duplicity of votes in the polls.

"We have provided the election authorities with the evidence of all these discrepancies," she added.