PTI issues ‘white paper’ on rigging

Document contains list of 40 polling stations where results were ‘altered’

LAHORE:

The PTI on Wednesday released a list of more than 40 polling stations across various National Assembly constituencies, alleging that the preliminary Form 45 results were manipulated there -- causing the reversal of victories for the party-backed candidates.

On social media platforms, the party shared a report titled ‘Whitepaper on Rigging’ which contained scanned copies of the “original” Form 45s alongside the allegedly tampered or forged versions.

“A thread highlighting the forgery committed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),” the PTI wrote in the first of a series of posts on micro-blogging platform X.

“Let the world know that the biased and highly controversial Election Commission of Pakistan uploaded fabricated Forms 45 on its website, almost a month after General Elections 2024."

A Form 45 contains crucial data from a polling station.

The PTI claimed that their nominated candidates possessed the original and signed Form 45s received on the polling day.

It condemned the “blatant and outrageous tampering, editing, and forgery” evident in the Form 45s issued by the ECP.

The PTI further accused the “#MandateThieves” of manipulating the election results to undermine party’s founding chairman Imran Khan's two-thirds majority mandate, and forming what they described as an “illegitimate” government of a “#CoalitionOfLosers”.

The party highlighted the need for the matter to undergo international scrutiny.
In specific instances, the PTI highlighted alleged irregularities in various constituencies.

For example at the polling station of NA-130 Pak Public Foundation Boys High School, PTI-backed candidate Yasmin Rashid initially secured 281 votes, while her opponent, three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif, obtained 180 votes.

However, subsequent examination revealed “discrepancies” as the tally for Yasmin was “reduced” to 179, while Nawaz’s count was inflated to 286 through “overwriting”.

The overall vote count remained unaltered, as indicated in the column displaying them.

The party also highlighted similar alleged irregularities in NA-130 where Nawaz’s vote count purportedly surged from 378 to 1,378, 313 to 1,313, and 235 to 1,235 at various other polling stations within the constituency.

Similarly in NA-57 Rawalpindi, PTI-backed Seemabia Tahir received 265 votes according to the “original” Form 45.

However, the party claimed that the ECP's website later displayed allegedly swapped vote counts, overturning Seemabia’s “victory”.

Similar alleged discrepancies were noted in NA-64 Gujrat, where PTI President Chaudhry Parvez Elahi's wife Qaisera Elahi saw her “victory” converted into “defeat” because of the alleged tampering of the vote count.

She secured 507 votes against PML-Q’s Chaudhry Salik Hussain, who managed to obtain only 31 votes at the 176 Social Welfare polling station.

However, a subsequent review revealed alleged tampering with the result posted on the ECP website displaying “overwriting”.
The PTI-backed candidate's vote count was “reduced” to 007, while that of Salik was “increased” to 531.

At another polling station, she garnered 339 votes but this tally was later diminished to 039.

In contrast, her opponent originally secured 440 votes at this polling station, but through “overwriting”, his count was “increased” to 615.

Furthermore, the PTI pointed out similar alleged irregularities in other constituencies including NA-71 Sialkot, where vote counts were allegedly manipulated in favour of opposing candidates.

Similar alleged discrepancies were observed in various other polling stations in many constituencies including NA-85, NA-98, NA-117, NA-126, NA-128, NA-148, NA-151, NA-219, NA-232, NA-238, and NA-263.

The PTI's claims raise significant concerns about the integrity of the electoral process, prompting calls for a thorough investigation and accountability measures.