PHA demounts banners, streamers of political parties from NA-120

LAHORE: The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has begun the process of demounting banners and removing streamers belonging to different political parties in NA-120 constituency.

Reportedly, the political parties stuffed the whole area of NA-120 with their party banners and streamers for by-election, which are now being removed by the PHA as election has concluded.

These banners and streamers were mounted as part of the election campaigns by different political parties in NA-120 by-election.

Meanwhile, the returning officer (RO) on Monday announced the unofficial result of NA-120 Lahore-III and declared PML-N’s candidate Begum Kulsoom Nawaz winner with 61,745 votes.

According to the result issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in early hours of Monday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Dr Yasmin Rashid grabbed 47,099 votes to secure second position, while independent candidate Shaikh Azhar Hussain Rizvi achieved third position with 7,130 votes.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Faisal Mir got 1,414 votes, while JI secured only 592 votes in the constituency.

Candidate of Milli Muslim League (MML) Muhammad Yaqoob Shaikh got 5,822 votes, while other 38 candidates could not achieve three-figure votes.

The overall turnout was recorded at 39.42 percent as only 126,860 out of 321,786 registered voters of the constituency used their right to franchise at 220 polling stations, while 1,731 votes were rejected.

On the other hand, PTI candidate Dr Yasmin Rashid announced to approach the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over the alleged registration of 29,000 bogus votes in the NA-120 constituency of Lahore.

“We have reservations against the Election Commission [of Pakistan] and will approach the court against them,” she said while addressing a press conference on Monday.

“I had said whether we win or lose, I will go against the ECP,” she added.

Yasmin Rashid referred to 29,000 votes registered in NA-120, which her party claims are “bogus and belong to areas outside the constituency”, and has filed a petition in the ECP pertaining to it.

She said that the government machinery was lavishly used by the candidate of the ruling party.

Alleging pre-poll rigging, the PTI nominee said, “Our fight has not ended. It will continue as long as the ECP does not become an independent institution.”

Published in Daily Times, September 19^th 2017.