ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday expressed anger at Chairman Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, Shehryar Afridi, after the lawmaker voted his Senate election vote.
Geo News said the prime minister was not satisfied with the explanation that Afridi gave him. "You are an MNA, how can you make a mistake like this?" asked an unhappy PM Imran Khan.
"Everyone was informed about the voting procedure. You shouldn't have made a mistake like this," he said angrily.
Geo News had earlier reported that Afridi had wasted his vote mistakenly when he signed the ballot paper.
Afridi had written to the presiding officer of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), asking the body to allow him to recast his vote. "It is submitted that I have been feeling unwell for the past few days and couldn't attend the meetings of the party for preparations of elections," he said.
The PTI leader said when he arrived at the parliament, the ECP staff failed to guide him. " When I approached you to cast my vote I asked you and your staff but they failed to guide me. Later, I put my signature on the ballot papers instead of putting numbers. Therefore, I may be allowed to recast my vote," he added.
Polling for the Senate elections have been underway from 9am to 5pm.
Lawmakers are casting votes in one of the country's most hotly contested Senate elections where the transparency of the electoral process has become a key issue.
The MPs are voting on 37 vacant seats of the Senate with 11 senators elected unopposed from Punjab. Now the polling is being held for 12 seats each of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 of Sindh and two of the federal capital.