Senior journalist Arif Yousafzai has made a startling revelation about the recent Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming that MPAs cast pre-stamped ballot papers received from a hidden room, instead of using the official ballot papers provided by the polling officer.
In a podcast, Yousafzai alleged that there was a hidden room inside the KP Assembly where Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, along with representatives from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), were present.
“Before going to the polling officer to collect official ballot papers, each MPA first visited this hidden room, where they were handed three pre-stamped ballot papers. These stamped papers were the ones they cast in the ballot box, while the official ballot papers given by the polling officer were returned to the same room,” he claimed.
It should be noted that the ruling PTI and opposition parties—PML-N, PPP, and JUI—had initially planned to elect all 11 senators unopposed. However, due to internal differences within PTI, the plan failed, and formal polling had to take place.
Sources suggest that PTI was uncertain about the loyalty of some of its MPAs, which is why, after failing to ensure an uncontested election, it allegedly adopted this covert method to avoid any unexpected outcome during the vote.
