BAHAWALPUR: Recount of votes in NA-192 (Liquatpur tehsil of Rahim Yar Khan district) surprised the commission head and the staff members when nine bags of the polled votes were found empty on Thursday.
The election tribunal had ordered the recount on a petition filed by PML-N candidate Makhdum Ahmad Alam Anwar against MNA Khwaja Qutubuddin.
The commission, headed by retired district and sessions judge Chaudhry Mushtaq, is presently engaged in completing the process of recounting of votes on the directive of the tribunal. It is learnt that there were total 294 polling stations in NA-192 while their bags of polled votes were in the ‘safe custody’ of the election staff concerned.
The commission has conveyed the matter to the election tribunal, which is seized with the issue and is likely to come up for a discussion between the counsel of the petitioner and the respondent on June 30.
Although the recount is over, its result has been withheld due to the issue of empty bags.
Sources say petitioner Makhdum Ahmed is so far leading the recount.
PTI PUBLIC MEETING: The stage is set for the PTI’s public meeting at a local stadium on Friday (today).
Meanwhile, the police finalised the security plan for the PTI public meeting.
DPO Sarfraz Ahmed Falki said over 250 police and elite force personnel, including lady constables, would be deployed and 23 CCTV cameras be installed at the meeting venue.
Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2014