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| October 12, 2002 | Saturday | Sha'aban 5, 1423 |
Benazir calls for new polls
ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: Chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party Benazir Bhutto called on Friday for new elections in the country and alleged fraud in the counting of votes in Thursday’s elections.
“I’m sorry to say vote counting was not done in a transparent manner. The regime engineered changes in the night,” Benazir Bhutto told AFP in a telephone interview from London.
“The votes being announced are contrary to all the exit polls and on the ground realities.”
Benazir charged that polling officials disappeared with ballot boxes for “two to three hours” after voting.
“The votes disappeared, the boxes disappeared, the presiding officers disappeared all across Pakistan except North-West Frontier Province in the first two or three hours when there should’ve been counting.”
By 1100 GMT the PML-Q had won 48 of some 150 National Assembly seats announced.
The PPP had secured 30 seats and the other opposition party PML-N had won 12.
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