28 February 2005	Monday	18 Muharram 1426

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LAHORE, Feb 27: It is turning out to be worst kind of post-poll rigging and the ARD leadership would protest it in the National Assembly tomorrow, claimed Saad Rafiq of the PML- N.

Commenting on what he called "inordinate delay" in compiling the results, he told Dawn that it was already more than five hours since the closure of voting time. But, the administration had not been able to bring votes to the office of the returning officer.

These vote-filled bags left polling station premises at around 6.30pm and it is already 11pm. Where were these bags roaming in the city, he wondered. The results are being manufactured, he claimed.

The returning officer belongs to a family that has traditionally supported Chaudhris from Gujrat. One of his brothers is police officer enjoying unflinching support of the Punjab chief minister and he in doing his duty to compile results according to preferences of the establishment, he said.

He said that according to results compiled by the ARD, its candidate had won by 3,500 votes. Earlier, the ARD leadership blocked Lower Mall road for more than an hour to protest against what they termed as "post-poll rigging" in NA- 127.

Addressing the gathering there, the ARD and MMA leaders claimed that the army had never accepted people's verdict in the past nor it was ready to do so right now.