Symbolly confused: ECP allotted incorrect symbol for PkMAP in NA-47

Candidate lost by 10,357 votes to PTI, demands re-election.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:

As candidates across the country fuss about rigged elections, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) candidate for NA-47 Kamal Khan faces another conundrum.

If voters were looking for the PkMAP tree symbol on the ballot paper, they would have been thrown off because instead, Kamal had a maize symbol next to his name.

PkMAP central committee member Dr Yunus Shiranee told The Express Tribune Kamal’s nomination papers had been submitted on March 27, 2013 to the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP) along with a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the party.



Consequently, the candidate launched his election campaign in his constituency, NA-47 Frontier Regions (FR).

Instead, the ECP ended up declaring Kamal Khan an independent and allotted him the symbol of maize. Kamal ended up securing 300 votes in NA-47, with unofficial results indicating the seat went to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Qaiser Jamal who received 10,657 votes.

The PkMAP candidate attributes his defeat to the symbol mix-up and has filed a complaint with the ECP. Kamal has also demanded a re-election in NA-47.



Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl candidate Mufti Abdul Shakur has demanded a recount in FR Tank and FR Lakki Marwat based on fingerprints. Shakur alleges rigging occurred in the polling stations of those areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.