Shoaib Shaheen, a candidate sponsored by the PTI, spoke to the media on Friday and criticised the NA-47 results, in which PML-N’s Tariq Fazal Chaudhry was declared the winner. Shaheen said that he will explore both legal and political avenues in his pursuit of justice.
He accused the Returning Officers (RO) of being “experts in corruption” and voiced his concerns about “injustice and oppression against the PTI” by claiming that the nomination papers were wrongfully taken away.
“They took away our bat [PTI’s electoral symbol]”—Shaheen’s statement—as he laid the blame for the perpetuation of injustice and brutality at the feet of the Supreme Court. A candidate endorsed by the PTI claimed, “I had a lead of more than 50,000 votes, my opponents had a total of 40,000 votes polled.”
He said that Tariq’s vote list included his votes.
The PTI hopeful claimed he had written to the DCO and the Election Commission, but had heard nothing back. It was his contention that all candidates were required to be provided with Form 45. He rhetorically wondered, “If you don’t like someone, will you change their vote?” as a means of casting doubt on the democratic process.
According to Shaheen, who blamed the ECP for the “indecent” behaviour during the election, she was not in favour of Tariq in any of the voting stations’ results. Additionally, he expressed his readiness to discuss any concerns the RO may have with him.
Spending billions was unnecessary. The PML-N’s Nawaz Sharif, the “ladla” or “favourite,” is taking over, and you should have declared it earlier, Shaheen said.
Shaheen said his intention to “protest and challenge the result” after accusing the authorities of “undermining the foundations” and “causing harm to the state.” “The people are being denied their basic rights,” he stated, pointing out that “today’s war is not for power but for the survival of the people” .
“We had the complete results by 11 PM and we will go to the court to challenge this dishonesty,” he added. Something like “there has been a change of over 50,000 votes” was his allegation.
