Ballot sack stolen, another one set on fire amid NA-231 vote recount

KARACHI: A dramatic turn of events unfolded during the vote recount for Karachi’s NA-231 (Malir-III) constituency, when masked individuals stormed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office, stealing one ballot sack and setting another ablaze.

The incident occurred at the ECP’s regional office in the Saddar area, sparking tensions between supporters of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who accused each other of instigating the violence.

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The vote recount, ordered by the ECP, was aimed at reviewing the results from four polling stations. The recount was requested after PTI-backed independent candidate Khalid Mehmood Ali challenged PPP’s Abdul Hakim Baloch’s victory by 389 votes in February’s general elections.

The PPP candidate had secured 43,634 votes and PTI’s candidate trailed behind with 43,245 votes. Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Umar Farooq came third with 14,143 votes.

Earlier, PTI’s candidate had already lost a seat after vote recount in PS-112 constituency.