PTI leader Hammad Azhar on Saturday claimed that Form 45s are missing in the election materials provided to chairmen by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ahead of tomorrow’s by-elections in Lahore’s NA-129 constituency.
The by-election comes after the seat fell vacant in July following the death of Azhar’s father, Mian Azhar.
In a post on
The alarm came after he had previously given “important instructions” to his party’s electoral agents about the forms.
“When the bags containing election materials are opened in the morning, make sure that the Forms 45 and 46 they contain are blank and shown to you. This is the most important thing.”
The PTI leader highlighted the importance of the presence of electoral agents during the voting and counting processes. “The ballot boxes should not be lost sight of at any time.”
Hammad further told the officers that they had “the right to obtain Form-45 [filled] according to the count,” and that any staff member who obstructed this would be subject to strict legal punishment.
He ordered all PTI workers in the party camps outside the polling stations to remain there after the polling was over and “peacefully follow the president to the returning officer’s (RO) office”.
A candidate or his election agent may appoint “as many election agents as may be prescribed” to each polling station to observe the process on behalf of the candidate under the Electoral Act 2017.
In another post, Hammad also sent a message to presidents and election staff, urging them not to commit any “illegal acts.”
“We are aware that they are being scared and threatened,” the PTI leader said, adding that those who allegedly did so “were seeking immunity, buying property abroad and moving their families there.”
“They will push you to [carrying out] unconstitutional actions and flee,” said Hammad.
“Be careful! Don’t put yourself in trouble by taking any serious and illegal action at the behest of any intruder,” the PTI leader said, urging them to do their duty.
The NA-129 seat is being contested by Mian Azhar’s nephew, Chaudhry Arsalan Ahmad, nominated by Hammad, who is a fugitive because he is wanted by the State in different cases.
Hafiz Mian Nauman, defeated by Mian Azhar by a margin of more than 30,000 votes in the 2024 elections, is again the PML-N candidate.
The PTI has accused the PML-N Punjab government of employing rigging tactics in support of its candidate in the NA-129 by-election.
Yesterday, Hammad said officials of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) were appointed as chairmen in the contested elections by Nauman, who served as chairman of the Board of Directors of Lesco.
Lesco CEO Ramzan Butt, however, refuted Hammad’s post, stating that the appointments were the decision of the ECP and not Lesco or any other government organisation.
Before the election campaign could resume, local police officers, captured on video footage, were seen removing banners of the PTI candidate.
Similar to the situation during the 2024 general election, Ahmad is competing as an independent candidate with the “geyser” symbol, rather than the “bat”, due to the revocation of the party’s electoral symbol last year.
