ECP is not independent, says PTI before NA-120 by-polls

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman (PTI) on Saturday raised reservations over the upcoming NA-120 by-polls and said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is not independent and works under the incumbent government. 

PTI's candidate for NA-120, Yasmin Rashid, said the party has not been provided with updated voter lists and the lists provided are missing 35 blocks. 

She also said that the PTI has submitted five petitions in ECP, but have yet to receive a reply after a passage of 10 days.  

Rashid that the list earlier provided by the ECP had 330,000 voters and a later list had 324,000 voters.

"ECP claimed that 6,000 voters had died," said Rashid. 

PTI leaders also said that they have asked the election commission for an updated voter list and they have yet to receive it. 

She also said that Kulsoom Nawaz is the deputy chairman of the same company that her husband Nawaz Sharif was and was disqualified from office due to the same reason. 

"Same clause is applicable Kulsoom Nawaz as it was to her husband," added Rashid.  

Earlier, the nomination papers of Kulsoom Nawaz, PML-N’s candidate for NA-120 by-election, were accepted by a returning officer.

The returning officer also rejected reservations leveled against her nomination papers by opposition parties, including the PTI.

Rashid had alleged that Kulsoom Nawaz had hidden facts in her nomination papers and demanded that Kulsoom Nawaz's nomination papers be rejected.

The NA-120 seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister by the Supreme Court on July 28. In the 2013 General Elections, Nawaz had won the seat by a substantial margin, defeating PTI’s Yasmin Rashid – who will be contesting for the seat this time around too.