Gujranwala by-poll dispute puts missing ballot claims, polling records and ministerial campaigning under focus.
LAHORE/GUJRANWALA: Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) has rejected the results of the NA-77 Gujranwala-I by-election, alleging widespread rigging, and says it will challenge the result before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the courts, turning a low-turnout contest into a test of how transparently disputed polling records are examined.
The party’s challenge follows the provisional count reported from all 333 polling stations, which placed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Rashid Bashir Virk first with 43,365 votes and PMML candidate Qazi Muhammad Ibrahim Gujjar second with 30,218. The reported margin was 13,147 votes. The figures were cited from Form-47, the returning officer’s provisional consolidated statement, and should not be described as a final legal determination unless and until the ECP issues the relevant notification.
At a press conference in Lahore on Monday, PMML spokesperson Faisal Nadeem alleged that thousands of ballot papers had gone missing, five ballot boxes listed in polling-staff records could not be accounted for, and election officials had committed procedural violations. He said the party’s own compilation from 283 polling stations gave Gujjar 25,377 votes against approximately 24,000 for Virk.
The party’s 283-station tally and the reported Form-47 totals are not directly comparable on the information currently available. PMML did not provide a station-by-station reconciliation in the material supplied for this report, while the provisional constituency-wide figures cover all 333 polling stations. The difference in coverage and the stage at which each tally was compiled must be clarified before either set of figures can be used to establish that votes were altered.
Nadeem said PMML believed ballot papers that had gone missing were later used at polling stations in remote areas to change the result. He also alleged that presiding officers did not obtain voters’ thumb impressions, that some Form-45 result documents were signed before polling ended and that Gujjar was prevented from observing proceedings at certain locations. These claims have not been independently established. Their verification requires the relevant original polling-station records, ballot-paper accounts, marked electoral rolls, Form-45 documents, CCTV or phone footage where available, and statements from the presiding officers concerned.
The party said it had video material relating to alleged irregularities and an audio recording involving a presiding officer identified by Nadeem as Shahid. In response to a video circulated by Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari, Nadeem disputed the government’s identification of the person shown, saying he was a presiding officer rather than a PMML worker. He called for a forensic examination of the recording and said the provincial government should facilitate it.
The recording played at the press conference reportedly features a man saying he had refused to permit voting without a national identity card and had faced a conspiracy as a result. The recording’s origin, date, speaker’s identity, completeness and context have not been independently verified. A forensic examination could establish whether the audio has been edited and whether it is consistent with the claimed source; it would not, by itself, prove the wider allegations about ballot handling or the constituency result.
The dispute is unfolding alongside a separate ECP inquiry into campaigning by Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar. The commission took notice after reports that Tarar travelled to NA-77 by helicopter and addressed a campaign gathering for Virk. The ECP said public office-holders, including federal ministers, are barred from participating in election campaigning, sought reports from the district monitoring officer and district returning officer, and directed Tarar to appear in person. It also indicated that the constituency result could be withheld pending a decision.
That notice is a documented regulatory step, not a finding that the election result was changed or that the winning candidate was involved in wrongdoing. The distinction matters: the ECP must determine whether the minister breached the code, what action is warranted and whether any proven breach has a legal bearing on the result. The commission’s reported cause list placed Tarar, Virk and other individuals before it for a hearing on November 12.
The election also drew complaints in the opposite direction. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari alleged on social media that people supporting Gujjar were openly stamping ballot papers in the presence of election staff. The provincial election commissioner directed the returning officer to examine that complaint and submit a report. PMML’s spokesperson disputed the interpretation of a video later circulated by Bukhari. Neither side’s public claims should be treated as conclusive without examination of the full, unedited footage, polling-station identity, time stamps and testimony from election staff.
The ECP also issued explanation notices to several PML-N lawmakers over alleged visits to polling stations, according to reporting published after polling. Those named included MNAs Saira Afzal Tarar and Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, MPAs Qudsia Batool and Hina Arshad Warraich, and Parliamentary Secretary Shazia Rizwan. The notices concern alleged conduct and do not amount to findings of guilt. Their handling is relevant because the same rules must be applied consistently, regardless of party affiliation.
NA-77’s political context adds another layer. The seat became vacant after the death of five-time PML-N lawmaker Chaudhry Mehmood Bashir Virk on September 11. His son, Rashid Bashir Virk, contested the by-election for the seat. Eleven candidates were in the field, while major parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamaat-e-Islami did not field candidates, according to published election coverage.
Turnout was reported at about 15.6 per cent, meaning that only a relatively small share of registered voters took part. Low participation does not invalidate an election by itself, but it limits the breadth of the mandate and makes confidence in the count especially important. PMML’s 30,218 votes in the provisional tally also indicate that it mobilised a substantial bloc of voters despite the absence of the larger opposition parties from the ballot.
For Gujranwala residents, the immediate issue is not which party wins the political argument at a press conference. It is whether every ballot issued, used, rejected, cancelled or remaining unused can be accounted for, and whether the official record matches what polling agents and election staff observed. The allegation of five missing ballot boxes, if supported by records, is specific enough to be tested against the polling-station inventory and ballot-paper account. If the party cannot identify the stations and documentary trail, the claim will remain unsubstantiated.
The ECP’s next steps should therefore be evidence-led and transparent. It should identify the polling stations covered by the complaint; obtain original Forms 45, ballot-paper accounts and relevant polling-day diaries; compare copies held by candidates’ polling agents with the returning officer’s record; examine the alleged missing boxes against dispatch and receipt logs; and publish reasoned findings on any recount or inspection request. Where audio or video is submitted, the commission should preserve the original files and document chain of custody before forensic testing.
PMML said it wanted votes re-examined at 50 polling stations and disciplinary action against anyone found responsible. The party also said it would pursue the matter through legal and public forums. The ECP has not, in the material reviewed for this report, publicly confirmed that a recount has been ordered or that the party’s missing-ballot allegations have been substantiated.
The outcome of the November 12 proceedings and the ECP’s response to the competing complaints will be the next significant developments. Until then, the defensible position is that PML-N leads the provisional count, PMML has formally rejected the result and raised allegations requiring documentary examination, and election officials face separate scrutiny over conduct during the campaign and polling.
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