ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Election Commission said in a statement on Saturday that it suspected the results of 20 polling stations had been falsified in the by-election for a Punjab constituency after a night wrought with violence and allegations of massive rigging.
The NA-75 National Assembly seat for Daska, a small town in Punjab's Sialkot district, fell vacant after an opposition party lawmaker, PML-N's MNA Syed Iftikharul Hassan Shah, died last year.
"...there is a suspicion of falsification in the results from 20 polling stations. Therefore, it is not possible to release the initial results without a complete inquiry," the statement said and added that the results of the NA-75 constituency were received with "unnecessary delay."
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it had tried to communicate with presiding officers several times with no success.
Nine candidates are in the race, and of them, the main candidates are PML-N’s Nousheen Iftikhar Shah and PTI’s Ali Asjad Malhi. According to unofficial results quoted in local media, the PML-N managed to retain the seat.
At least two people were killed and three injured in Daska on Friday night where the electoral contest was arranged for a vacant National Assembly seat.
Clashes broke out between the workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
Both political factions blamed each other for ruining the election activity by generating violence.
