Audit uncovers discrepancies in election results of federal NA constituencies

ISLAMABAD: Discrepancies between forms 45 and 47 from the February 8 general elections have come into the spotlight again. A recent audit revealed that the declared winners in all three National Assembly (NA) constituencies in the federal capital actually received fewer votes than the runners-up.

These findings were presented by a private development sector organisation Pattan-Coalition38’s audit report. The organisation conducted an audit of the three Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) NA constituencies, which involved collecting forms 45 from candidates and comparing them with forms 47.

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The audit verified the results of 298 (87 per cent) out of 342 polling stations in NA-46 Islamabad-1. “Our tabulation of results indicates that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independent candidate Amir Masood received 75,608 votes, with Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) Anjum Aqeel Khan following with 38,607 votes. However, according to Form 47 on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) website, the PML-N candidate was declared the winner with 81,958 votes against 44,317 for the PTI-backed candidate,” the audit report said. It noted a reversal of over 76,000 votes from their verification.

The audit further revealed discrepancies between the forms 45 they collected and those uploaded by the ECP in more than 200 out of 342 polling stations. It was observed that votes for the PTI candidate were often recorded under the PML-N candidate’s column and vice versa.

In NA-47 Islamabad-2, results from 379 (97 per cent) out of 387 polling stations were verified. The audit showed PTI-backed independent candidate Shoaib Shaheen received 101,061 votes, with PML-N’s Tariq Fazal Chaudhry securing 49,528 votes. Yet, Form 47 on the ECP website declared the PML-N candidate the winner with 101,397 votes against 86,794 for the PTI-backed candidate, reversing the results by over 66,000 votes.

For NA-48 Islamabad-3, results from 234 (90 per cent) out of 261 polling stations were verified. The audit indicated PTI-backed independent candidate Syed Mohammad Ali Bukhari received 70,318 votes, followed by independent candidate Raja Khurram Shahzad, who later joined PML-N, with 26,874 votes. However, Form 47 on the ECP website declared the independent candidate the winner with 69,699 votes against 59,851 for the PTI-backed candidate, reversing the results by over 53,000 votes.

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In polling station 94, the PML-N candidate’s total vote count was altered from 92 to 1,092, an increase of 1,000 votes. The Pattan-Coalition38 audit report highlighted clear evidence of vote manipulation.

The audit process involved collecting polling station-level results (Form 45) completed inside polling stations on election day from candidates, tabulating all available forms 45 for each constituency, comparing these totals with Form 47 issued by the ECP, and identifying discrepancies on specific polling stations by comparing forms 45 collected post-election with those on the ECP’s Google Drive.