BAHAWALPUR: A number of defeated National Assembly (NA) candidates belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and other parties have applied for recounting of votes to their respective returning officers (ROs) in Bahawalpur, Multan and Vehari districts, in their respective constituencies.

In NA-168 (Tehsil Ahmedpur East), PTI’s Ms Shozeb Kanwal, independent candidate Nawab Bahawal Abbas Abbasi and PPP’s Makhdum Ali Hassan Gilani, who were defeated by PML-N’s Makhdum Samiul Hassan Gilani, have applied for vote recount.

Sami Gilani, is a former PTI MNA who had changed his loyalties during the no-confidence move against ex-premier Imran Khan, has contested Feb 8 election on a PML-N ticket.

At a press conference in Ahmedpur East, Ms Kanwal alleged that on the polling day, ballot boxes filled with ballot papers were brought from the residence of her rival candidate to the Government Talat Zahra Girls Degree College polling station and cast.

She claimed that her representative Ms Naheed drew the attention of the presiding officer concerned to these ballot boxes, but in vain.

She also accused police officials of threatening PTI workers and alleged that the presiding officers sent incomplete forms No 45 to her polling agents without thumb impressions.

The defeated PML-N candidate, Qazi Adnan Farid, from PP-249 (Ahmedpur East), has also filed an application with the RO for recounting of polled. He was defeated by PTI-supported former MPA Sahibzada Gazin Abbasi.

Similarly, in Multan, PTI leader Makhdum Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s daughter Mahar Bano Qureshi, a defeated candidate from NA-151 (Multan- 1V) and Tahir Iqbal from NA-158 (Vehari-3) defeated by PML-N’s Begum Tehmina Daultana, have also moved their respective ROs for vote recount.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2024