Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has categorically rejected the results of the recent by-election in Punjab Assembly constituency PP-38 Sialkot (Sambarial), accusing the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, of massive electoral fraud, vote-rigging, and intimidation of voters and polling staff, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, PTI Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram alongside PTI’s Punjab Chief Organizer Alia Hamza, claimed that the by-election was “not an election but outright rigging.”
He alleged that the entire electoral process was disregarded, and law enforcement agencies, rather than ensuring order, played a central role in disrupting the democratic exercise.
Waqas Akram detailed a series of incidents, stating that PTI polling agents were forcibly removed from polling stations, voters were harassed, and pre-filled ballot boxes were brought in and exchanged during the vote count.
He further claimed that PTI’s election camps were dismantled and that many polling stations were specifically targeted to engineer a favorable outcome for PML-N.
“The counting process must legally take place in the presence of polling agents, and their signatures on the final certified forms are mandatory,” Akram emphasized.
“But this was not followed. Everything was pre-planned,” he added, asserting that the election was “rigged systematically and deliberately.”
He also recalled that PTI’s late candidate, who had previously contested from the same constituency, had secured 58,000 votes, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the current low voter turnout.
“Turnout was extremely low, PML-N workers were absent from the field, and their camps remained empty. This entire episode was a fraud, and we refuse to accept these results,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Alia Hamza claimed that the party had gathered substantial evidence of rigging and irregularities.
She stated that these will be presented both in courts and to the public, highlighting that PTI was committed to peaceful and legal methods to challenge the manipulated outcome.
“This was not just electoral manipulation; it was an assault on democracy itself,” she said.
“Despite all state-backed efforts to suppress us, our resolve remains firm, and our struggle will continue.”
Sheikh Waqas praised Alia Hamza for leading a determined campaign and condemned the attempts to undermine PTI’s "Patron-in-Chief", stating that “the efforts to erase our leader from the hearts of the people have failed.”
He reaffirmed that PTI will continue its campaign for the release of the Patron-in-Chief, restoration of the party’s public mandate, and the reversal of the controversial 26th Constitutional Amendment.