Counting under way in Gujranwala, Sahiwal by-elections

Counting of votes was under way in Gujranwala's NA-77 and Sahiwal's PP-203 on Sunday evening after by-elections in which Punjab's information minister alleged fake voting and the Election Commission issued notices to five parliamentarians.

Polling began at 8am and continued to 5pm without a break in both constituencies, Aaj News reported. NA-77 fell vacant on the death of PML-N MNA Mahmood Bashir Virk, and PP-203 on the death of MPA Muhammad Hanif Jatt.

The Election Commission said 11 candidates are contesting NA-77, where 518,620 voters are registered and 333 polling stations were set up. Seven candidates are contesting PP-203, which includes the Chichawatni area, where 258,122 voters are registered and 185 polling stations were established. Aaj News reported that the commission said all arrangements for the exercise were complete.

In Chichawatni, 1,100 police personnel were deployed for security, and women police officers were on duty to assist women voters. Extra police and other security forces were kept on alert for emergencies.

Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari released a video that she said showed fake voting in NA-77 and accused workers of the Markazi Muslim League of stamping ballots in the open. According to Express News, she said the video showed the workers stamping in front of Election Commission staff, with the party's polling agents also visible. She alleged that supporters of the party's candidate, Qazi Ibrahim Gujjar, were stamping the chair election symbol openly. The report carried no response from the Markazi Muslim League or from Gujjar.

The in-charge of the provincial election commission's monitoring and control room in Punjab took strict notice of the presence of MNAs and MPAs in NA-77 and sent a letter to Gujranwala's CPO, DRO and RO directing that legislators be kept outside polling stations, Express News reported. The letter said lawmakers' visits to unrelated polling stations on polling day violated paragraph 48 of the code of conduct. The commission ordered immediate and strict action against members who broke the code, and notices were issued to five members of parliament.