Introduction:

Fair elections are crucial for a democratic country as they reflect the majority’s opinions. However, on February 8, 2024, instances in Pakistan revealed reports of the police and army, designated to safeguard fair elections, not intervening to prevent mistreatment of PTI candidates. Additionally, there were allegations of corruption involving both the police and army during the night.

Pre-Marked Ballots:

A form of corruption observed during the election was the distribution of pre-marked ballots to voters arriving at polling stations. This serious issue not only undermines individual choices but also raises concerns about the overall democratic nature of the country. The fairness of the election is brought into question.

Fingerprint Manipulation:

Another corruption tactic employed by the establishment involves exploiting the fingerprint verification process in Pakistan. Voters reported that their votes had already been cast, with someone else’s fingerprint being used. This undermines the fundamental principles of a fair voting system.

Coercion and Violence:

Despite their duty to safeguard the electoral system, there have been reports of police officers resorting to violence against workers who refuse their corrupt demands.

Result Manipulation:

The establishment implemented a strategy of delaying results to manipulate them according to their preferences. Votes for PTI were allegedly destroyed by placing extra stamps on paper ballots, leading to PTI losing. These efforts were aimed at benefiting the PMLN party.

Manipulation in Form 47:

The final blow to electoral integrity often arises from discrepancies between Form 45 and Form 47. While many PTI candidates won according to Form 45, the results were changed in Form 47. Despite winning about 180 seats in the National Assembly according to Form 45, the results were altered to show PTI winning only about 107 seats, losing more than 70 seats.Here are a few examples of unfairness in National Assembly seat allocations:

NA- 55:

The results from 284 out of 315 (90%) polling stations indicated:

• PTI: ~94,000
• PMLN: ~48,300

However, the final result declared by the Returning Officer (RO) was:

• PMLN: ~76,000
• PTI: ~67,000

Basharat Raja shares a compilation of all Form 45s, demonstrating that he has won by a margin of 50,000 votes.

NA-54:

At 84% of the poll count, the results were as follows:

• PTI’s Azra Masood: 88,850
• Independent candidate Aqeel Malik: 38,995 Resulting in a commanding lead of ~50,000 votes.

However, when the results reached 100%, the numbers changed:

• PTI’s Azra Masood: 73,694
• Independent candidate Aqeel Malik: 85,912

Despite the initial commanding lead, the final results show a significant shift. The Form 45 indicates that PTI has purportedly won over 90% of the polling stations.

For more detailed information, the original Form 45 link from polling stations can be accessed here: Original Form 45 link

Imran Khan’s Initial Push for EVMs:

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan deployed Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for voting to ensure the security of votes. However, this initiative was later changed to physical voting, possibly facilitating the occurrence of the mentioned type of corruption.