PTI files another petition in ECP against ‘pre-poll fraud’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Wednesday filed a petition in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the alleged pre-by-election rigging in Punjab, making the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) a party.

The petitioner, Omar Ayub Khan, who is the PTI’s additional secretary general, said the ECP must conduct free, transparent and impartial elections as per law, alleging the rival party was active in the ongoing campaign for the by-elections. During this time, several violations had been committed, which were hindering transparent and impartial polls, he complained.

The PTI members – Riaz Fatiana and Iftikhar Durrani – also accompanied Omar Ayub during his visit to the Election Commission Secretariat and the media chat afterwards. The petitioner alleged that voter lists had been changed and voters had been turned back and forth in violation of the Election Commission Act, 2017, in the 19 by-election constituencies.

He told the ECP that the electoral rolls or voters lists in Sheikhupura constituency PP-140 was a clear example of illegal actions, where the final list was released on May 20 after the announcement of election schedule, which was a violation of the law.

He contended in the petition that as per the list, released in 2018 and 2020, the total number of voters was 2,239 and 2,875, respectively, which had increased to 5,573 in May 2022. The petition said that even after announcement of the election date, developmental projects were announced in various constituencies, which was a clear violation of Section 181 of the Election Act of 2017, and various election petitions had been filed in that regard.

He said the DG Rajanpur had been campaigning for a PMLN candidate, in violation of both Section 187 and rules and regulations of the Election Commission Act, 2017. The Jhang district police officer, he alleged, had been found guilty of pre-poll fraud, while the government candidate for PP-7 was offering bribes to voters to influence them.

The petition alleged that Jhang DPO Dr Ghias Gill had been posted for pre-poll rigging. In the past, members of PTI, MNAs Sahibzada Muhammad Mehboob Sultan and Sahibzada Ameer Sultan, belonging to NA-114 and NA-116, respectively presented a privileged motion against the incumbent DPO in the National Assembly. That was why he nurtured a grudge against the PTI and its members. An application vide diary No .516 dated 20-06-2022, was submitted in the Election Commission, but no action had been taken so far in that regard.

That in PP-7, the governmental candidate, Raja Sagheer Ahmed, was indulging in corrupt practices by offering bribes to voters, which was a clear violation of sections 167 and 168 of the Elections Act of 2017.