GWADAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has failed to announce the result of by-election of PB-50-Turbat-3 where polling was held on Dec 31.

All the four candidates — Mir Muhammad Akram Dashti of the National Party, Akbar Askani of PML-N, Mir Muhammad Ali Rind of Balochistan National Party-A and independent Lala Khurshid — have been claiming victory and massive rigging in the election.

The main candidates — Akram Dashti and Akbar Askani — reached Islamabad on Tuesday and demanded that the ECP announce the result.

As per unofficial result after counting of votes late in the night on the polling day, the National Party candidate Mir Muhammad Akram Dashti was leading against the other candidates.

However, in the morning on Jan 1, Akbar Askani claimed that he had won the election as he had got more bags full of votes. “I have won the election,” he claimed at a press conference, while National Party leaders warned that they would not allow manipulated results in favour of the PML-N candidate and their party had already won.

They said that the votes shown as polled in favour of Mr Askani had been brought from the polling stations where polling had not been held.

National Party leaders and workers staged protest demonstrations in Turbat, Gwadar, Quetta, Karachi, Islamabad and other towns and cities of Balochistan against the alleged rigging.

On the other hand, the provincial leaders and workers of the PML-N also protested and demanded that the ECP declare the result confirming that their candidate had won.

Mr Khurshid and Mr Rind have alleged massive rigging in the by-election and said that officials were involved in this. They had called for re-election in the constituency.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2016