JUI-F accuses PTI govt of influencing results of NMD polls

Candidate alleges misuse of public funds to lure voters

PESHAWAR: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) merged districts candidate Ameer Mufti Abdul Shakoor has accused the federal and provincial governments of meddling into the affairs of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He has accused the government of changing the results of their winning candidates through recounting in merged districts’ elections and warned that soon they would halt the whole province against such actions.

While addressing the press conference in the Peshawar Press Club, on Saturday, the JUIF candidate warned the government institutions to restrain from meddling in the affairs of the ECP in the merged districts’ elections and said that the federal and provincial governments were using their offices to pressurise the returning officers to make changes in the results.

He alleged that the public funds have been used to lure voters onto a specific side in the merged district elections, while previously the amount previously allocated in PSD has lapsed due to the fact that none was released from the relevant quarters and the announced Rs50 billion for security forces has not been met as yet, he added.

“Mullana Hisamuddin has been declared a winner according to the ECP official results. Moreover, overnight fake votes were cast in the merged district elections, while political interfaces were also recorded in the PK-15 elections. JUIF is demanding that the ECP take notice of the irregularities into the merged districts elections,” Abdul Shakoor said.

He also accused that the governor and chief minister of using their offices to influence and pressurise the district returning officers and the results in the election. He added that they would go to every extent to claim their rights, which were stolen from them in these elections.

He said that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government are using various tactics including bribery to lure independent candidates and getting them to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), so they can secure two-third majority seats in the K-P assembly.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2019.