The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is conducting a repoll in different seats around the country in reaction to multiple occurrences of electoral fraud and disturbances during the recent general elections.
The impacted areas include National Assembly seat NA-88 Khushab, Sindh Assembly constituency PS-18 Ghotki, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly's PK-90 Kohat, while re-polling will be conducted in Balochistan's PB-09 Kohlu and NA-253 tomorrow.
The repolling process began at 8 a.m. in NA-88 Khushab, with voters from 26 polling stations able to cast ballots until 5 p.m. The decision to conduct repolling was reached following an unfortunate occurrence on February 8 in which the ballot box and other documents were intentionally set on fire by miscreants in the RO office, leading the election commission to take immediate action.
The competitors were IPP's Gul Asghar Khan and independent candidate Ikram Niazi. The DPO has designated the region a red zone, and a large presence of police and army personnel has been deployed to avoid any untoward incidents. A local holiday was also declared in the region.
Similarly, in PS-18 Obaro, Ghotki, and Sindh, repolling is taking place at two polling stations, 161 and 162, following the theft of vote boxes during the February 8 election. Independent candidate Jam Mehtab Dahar presently leads with 56,285 votes, while PPP candidate Shahryar Khan Shar is close behind with 54,705.
The repoll is being secured by around 300 policemen, and there are 3,308 registered voters in these two polling stations.
Despite the setback created by the theft, residents remain actively engaged in the political process to guarantee that their opinions are heard.
Meanwhile, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Kohat district, polling is underway in 25 polling stations for the PK-90 constituency, amid a close contest between independent candidate Aftab Alam and the PPP's Amjad Afridi. However, the atmosphere has remained tense since the vandalism and arson assaults on the voting booths in Dara Adam Khel on February 8.
There are 41,498 registered voters at these voting locations.
Furthermore, preparations for repolling tomorrow are ongoing at seven polling stations on NA-253 and PB-09 Kohlu, where election officials and supplies are being transported under severe security measures imposed by Levies and FC personnel.
In NA-253, independent candidate Mian Khan Bugti leads with 2,040 votes, with PML-N's Mir Dostain Domki lagging.
Meanwhile, in PB-07 Kholu, independent candidate Nawabzada Ghazian has declared his support for his elder brother, Nawab Jangez Marri. Mir Naseebullah Marri of the PPP now leads with 5,888 votes from 67 voting stations. PML-N's Jangez Marri received 2,479 votes.
As the repolling process continues, political stakeholders and the public alike stay alert, hoping for a fair and transparent electoral process that adheres to Pakistan's democratic values. The Election Commission continues to constantly monitor the situation to maintain the integrity and legitimacy of the electoral process in all seats.