NA-118 inquiry: NADRA inspection reveals irregularities

Election record of five polling stations reported missing

LAHORE: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) on Wednesday reported that election record of five NA-118 polling stations was missing. The finding was part of pre-scan report submitted to election tribunal, headed by judge Kazim Ali Malik.

The tribunal asked counsel for both parties to argue their positions on the report on June 17.

According to the NADRA report, unused counterfoils were missing from the election record of polling station number 235. Counterfoils for ballots that were not issued were also found from the record of 22 polling stations.

Talking to The Express Tribune, PTI’s counsel, Anees Ali Hashmi, said that electoral rolls for 60 polling stations had been reported missing. “A number of Forms 14 and 15 are also missing,” he said.

The tribunal has appointed former additional district and sessions judge Abdul Hafiz as local commission for the report.



Earlier, the tribunal had directed the NADRA to verify thumb impressions record of the voters. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Malik Riaz was elected MNA from the constituency. Hamid Zaman, the runner-up, had challenged the result, claiming rigging. He stated that 99 polling bags had gone missing after NADRA started its verifications of the record. The missing bags were later found.

He had requested the tribunal to direct the NADRA to verify voters’ thumb impressions.

Riaz’s counsel had opposed the request, stating that the inspection had already occurred.

He had requested the judge to dismiss the petition.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2015.