Re-polling ordered in 2 Balochistan polling stations due to alleged falsification of results

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday ordered re-polling at two polling stations in Balochistan's PB-41 (Washuk) constituency where two presiding officers were allegedly abducted on election day and later forced to submit false results.

The issue was taken up by the ECP after a petition filed by losing candidate, Balochistan Awami Party's Mir Mujeebur Rehman Mohammad Hasani, drew its attention to the fact that the results of polling stations number 44 and 45 in Washuk were missing from the final result of the PB-41 constituency.

During the course of the hearing, a returning officer had told the commission that two presiding officers were allegedly abducted by masked men on election day, which led to their polling stations' results not being included in the final count for PB-41.

The RO quoted the two presiding officers as claiming that they had not compiled the results of their constituencies themselves and that "they were forced to submit the results compiled by their abductors."

"Who had abducted them?" an ECP official had asked. At this, Kamran Murtaza, the counsel of PB-41 seat winner belonging to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, quoted the presiding officers as saying that they were "abducted by security forces".

Polling station 44 presiding officer had earlier told the ECP that "several masked men came and took me with them... After several hours I was handed the Form 45."

The ECP had earlier reserved its decision pertaining to the results of the two polling stations.

Meanwhile, the ECP has uploaded a letter on its website written by the polling station 45 PO ─ and verified and stamped by the PB-41 RO ─ in which the PO claims that he was "abducted by security forces" who later allegedly forced him to submit a Form 45 with a fabricated number of votes on it in order to favour the MMA candidate.