QUETTA: Nasarullah Zerey, the Pashtunkhwa National Awami Party’s (PkNAP) Balochistan chapter president and one of the contestants for the recently held by-election for PB-45 (Quetta) seat, has alleged that the JUI-F with the help of Election Commission of Pakistan had altered the list of 5,000 voters depriving PkNAP supporters of their right to vote.

Speaking at a press conference along with other PkNAP leaders Raza Mohammad Raza, Qadir Agha, Khushhal Kasi and Nida Sanger, on Tuesday, Mr Zerey claimed that his “victory” in the by-election was “turned into defeat” through alleged rigging, as it was allegedly done in the Feb 8 general elections.

He said PkNAP was not part of the protest announced by the JUI-F, because they were complicit with the ECP in the “voter list conspiracy”. He said when polling agents and voters went to exercise their right to vote, their names were missing from the voter lists. At certain polling stations, he said, presiding officers were not even government employees.

“We have submitted five applications regarding the missing names from the voter lists but the authorities concerned have taken no action,” Mr Zerey said.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2025