Pakistan: Opposition cries foul in by-elections row

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan’s opposition has accused the country’s election authorities of trying to change results of Friday's violence-marred by-elections in favor of the ruling party.

The allegations came on Saturday after the Election Commission of Pakistan withheld results of a constituency in the northeastern Punjab province, which, according to initial results, was won by the center-right Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).

The commission said in a statement that results of the National Assembly seat have been halted due to “suspicion of falsification of results” from polling stations in Punjab’s Daska district, the main battleground for the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the PML-N in the by-polls.

“There is a suspicion of falsification in the results from 20 polling stations. Therefore, it is not possible to release the initial results without a complete inquiry,” read the statement.

At least two people were killed and several injured in clashes between PTI and PML-N supporters during polling on Friday, with both blaming the other for the violence.

Maryam Nawaz, PML-N’s vice-president and daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said on Twitter that “efforts are being made to steal a seat won by the PML-N.”

She also shared a series of videos purportedly showing an unidentified election official and alleged PTI supporters trying to run away with “bagfuls of votes.”

Rebutting the charges, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s spokesperson, Shahbaz Gill, said the PTI also has concerns over results of constituencies it has lost to the opposition.

The PML-N’s “hue and cry,” he said, is a clear indication that the party has been defeated in a constituency it won in the 2018 general polls.

Setback in ruling party’s stronghold

According to other unofficial results announced by the ECP, the PTI lost two provincial assembly seats, one in Punjab and another in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

Both seats have been won by the PML-N.

The defeat in KP – considered the PTI’s stomping ground and a province it is governing for a second consecutive term – is a major setback for Prime Minister Khan’s party.

The PTI, however, managed to clinch the National Assembly seat from KP’s northwestern Kurram district with a narrow margin.