Pakistan’s Election Commission Data Sparks Serious Doubts over Nawaz Sharif’s 2024 Election Victory

Mon Jan 27 2025
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Key points

  • Nawaz bagged almost twice the total number of votes polled at polling station No. 370
  • Turnout for NA at 19 polling stations was around 100 per cent for NA compared to less than 50 per cent for PA
  • Number of votes polled at polling station No 180 exceeded total number of votes assigned at the polling station
  • Number of votes polled was more than the number of ballot papers issued in many polling stations
  • Out of 376 polling stations, Nawaz lost from over 200, but an abnormal turnout in 65 polling stations secured him victory with a margin of a 75,000-vote lead

ISLAMABAD: Believe it or not, the truth is staring us right in the face.

The number of polled votes exceeded the total number of registered voters at a polling station of NA-130 (Lahore)—the National Assembly constituency from where Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former three-time prime minister of Pakistan Mian Nawaz Sharif was declared winner in the 2024 general elections.

A thorough analysis of key election documents of NA-130 and the associated provincial Punjab Assembly (PA) constituencies reveals that 1,825 out of a total of 1,818 voters assigned to polling station No. 180 turned up to vote. Of them, 1,266 voted for Nawaz Sharif, and 449 for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Dr Yasmin Rashid.

Form-45 of the Punjab Assembly constituency PP-173 for the same polling station shows the total number of voters as 1,818, including 931 men and 887 women, and the total votes polled were 972.

In an attempt to cover up the blunder, the total number of male voters at the polling station for NA-130 was changed in Forms 45 and 46 from 931 to 981, and the registered voters were shown as 1,878 from 1,818—a statistical discrepancy; however, the addition of 50 voters would make the total number of voters 1,868 and not 1,878 as was shown in the official documents.

The official record of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) regarding the Final Polling Scheme shows 1,818 voters had been assigned to the polling station.

Pakistan

At polling station No. 370, a total of 767 votes were polled, as per Form 45. However, Nawaz Sharif bagged 1,284 votes—far more than the total votes cast at the polling station, ECP record shows. The PML-candidate for PA could get only 284 votes at the same polling station – exactly 1,000 less than the votes secured by Nawaz Sharif.

To understand the intricacies involved with result tabulation in Pakistan’s electoral system, one should know about the different forms used to compile election results. Among these forms, Form-45 is commonly referred to as the “Result of the Count.” It contains essential information about the polling station, including the polling station number, constituency name, total registered voters, total votes cast, and a detailed breakdown of votes received by each candidate.

Form-46 provides details about the number of ballot papers received at the polling station, the number of ballot papers issued for the ballot boxes, and the number of challenged, incorrect, and cancelled ballot papers.

While Form-48 is crucial in the preparation of election results as it includes the total number of votes cast for each candidate in a specific constituency.

WE News English conducted a thorough analysis of these forms and found apparent result terming and statistical irregularities in the results of dozens of polling stations in the National Assembly constituency, NA-130.

Several other polling stations recorded suspiciously high turnout, but only in the case of NA votes. The incomplete Forms 46—with the columns meant for key information of ballot papers issued at the polling stations left blank and the several forms 45 contain over-writings. In addition, there is a glaring disparity between the key forms used to tabulate the election results, with a difference of exactly 1,000 polled votes for national and provincial assemblies at 21 polling stations and exceeding 1,000 at many others, making things all the more dubious.

One document appears to be falsifying and contradicting the other in many cases. The vital information was missing from most Forms 46 at polling stations of the constituency where election documents showed abnormal turnout. At least three showed the number of polled votes was greater than the number of total ballot papers issued on the polling day.

An abnormally high turnout at over 65 polling stations appeared to have changed the electoral scene in NA-130, where Nawaz Sharif lost at well over 200 of the total 376 polling stations and won with a negligible margin from around 70 polling stations but still emerged victorious with a lead of around 75,000.

Close to 100 per cent turnout at 19 polling stations for NA only

The turnout at 19 polling stations remained close to 100 per cent for the National Assembly constituency against less than 50 per cent for the provincial assembly constituency.

At polling station No 333, just eight out of the total 2,444 assigned voters missed the opportunity to vote, with the turnout coming to 99.67 per cent—2,105 out of them voted for Nawaz Sharif—more than 10 times higher than the 198 votes Yasmin Rashid could bag.

The turnout at 19 polling stations remained close to 100 per cent for the National Assembly constituency against less than 50 per cent for the provincial assembly constituency.

At polling station No. 333, just eight out of the total 2,444 assigned voters missed out the opportunity to vote with the turn out coming to 99.67 pc. 2105 out of them voted for Nawaz Sharif – more than 10 times higher than 198 votes Yasmin Rashid could bag.

The turnout for the PA at the same polling station remained 43.98 per cent, where only 1,075 cast their ballots, marking a difference of 1,361 between votes polled for the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly seats.

Likewise, the turnout of voters at polling station No. 277 touched the figure of 99.35 per cent, where all except around a dozen registered voters turned up to vote. A total of 1,981 of 1,994 registered voters polled votes. For the provincial assembly seat, 981 (49.20 per cent) voted with a difference of exactly 1,000 votes polled for the National Assembly seat.

At polling station No. 300, a total of 2,208 out of a total of 2,228 voters cast their votes, leaving only 20 voters who could not make it. The turnout remained 99.10 per cent. Astonishingly enough, only 907 (40.71 per cent) polled votes for the provincial assembly seat at this polling station, with the difference coming to 1,301.

At polling Station No. 217, exactly 2,088 (98.86 per cent) of the total 2,112 voted. Of them, 1,805 voted for Nawaz Sharif. For the provincial assembly seat, the turnout at the same polling station remained 38.87 per cent, with the number of total polled votes coming to 821—around 1,000 less than the votes clinched by Sharif alone.

The total difference between polled votes for the National Assembly and the provincial assembly is 1,267.

The turnout at polling station No. 24—where just 25 out of a total of 1,325 missed the chance to vote—remained 98.11 per cent as against 32.10 per cent for the provincial assembly. No fewer than 1,300 out of a total of 1,325 voted at the polling station—1,190 of whom voted for Nawaz Sharif and only 70 for Yasmin Rashid. The number of votes polled for the National Assembly seat was more than three times higher than the votes cast for the provincial assembly, as just 382 (32.10 per cent) of them cast their ballots for the provincial assembly seat, with the difference coming to 918.

At polling station No. 262, the turnout for national and provincial assemblies remained 97.94 and 45.17 per cent respectively. As high as 1,856 of the total voters assigned to the polling station cast votes for the National Assembly. Nawaz Sharif bagged 1,372 of these while Yasmin Rashid could get only 388 votes. Out of the 1,856 who voted, exactly 1,000 did not vote for the provincial assembly seat where their number remained 856.

Next in line is polling station No. 283, where turnout for NA remained 97.86 per cent. Out of a total of 2,333 voters, 2,283 voters cast ballots. Nawaz Sharif clinched 2,022 of the 2,275 valid votes against Yasmin Rashid’s 13. For the provincial assembly, just 1,033 (44.28 per cent) voted were polled with the difference coming to 1,250.

At polling station No. 341, a total of 1,870 (97.55 per cent) of the total 1,917 voters exercised their right to vote. Of them, 1,295 voted for Nawaz Sharif and 340 for Yasmin Rashid. For the provincial assembly, just 870 people voted, with the difference coming to 1,000.

At polling station No 113, up to 1,978 (97.39 per cent) out of a total of 2,031 voted—1,282 for Nawaz Sharif and 522 for Yasmin Rashid. For the provincial assembly, 1,163 (57.26 per cent) cast their votes, and the gap came to 815.

As many as 1,751 (97.28 per cent) of the total 1,800 voted for NA. Nawaz Sharif and Yasmin Rashid secured 1,308 and 341 votes, respectively. For the provincial assembly seat, just 751 (41.72 per cent) voted, with the difference again coming to exactly 1,000.

Pakistan

At polling station No 21, the difference between polled votes for NA and PA exceeded the number of total votes cast for the provincial assembly. Exactly 1,673 (97.10 per cent) of the total 1,724 voted for NA. Nawaz Sharif and Yasmin Rashid secured 1,273 and 332, respectively. For the provincial assembly seat, just 788 cast votes, reflecting a difference of 886.

Likewise, 1,455 (97 per cent) of the total 1,500 voted at polling station No. 202. Nawaz Sharif got 1,301 votes, and Yasmin Rashid just 105 votes. For the provincial assembly seat, just 458 (35.20 per cent) voted, and the difference remained a little short of 1,000.

The difference was exactly 1,000 at polling station No 272, where 1,716 (96.79 per cent) and 716 (40.38 per cent) of the total 1,773 voted for the National Assembly NA and provincial assembly, respectively. Nawaz Sharif secured 1,312 as against 322 votes clinched by Yasmin Rashid from the polling station.

At polling station No 18, out of 2,216, a total of 1,140 (96.57 per cent) voted. Nawaz Sharif grabbed the major chunk of 1,875 while Yasmin Rashid could get only 153 votes. The turnout for the provincial assembly seat at the polling station was as low as 36.33 per cent where the total votes polled was less than half of the votes secured by Sharif. Only 805 voted for the provincial assembly and the difference came to 1,335.

At polling station No. 73, the turnout for the National Assembly seat was 96.55 per cent as against 51.86 per cent for the provincial assembly seat. A total of 2,158 and 1,159 voted for the National Assembly and provincial assembly, respectively, bringing the gap to 999 votes.

Nawaz Sharif secured over 300 votes more than the total votes polled for the provincial assembly at polling station No. 145. The total number of votes polled for the National Assembly seat remained 1,809 (95.82 per cent) compared to 934 (49.47 per cent) for the provincial assembly, with the difference coming to 864. Nawaz Sharif and Yasmin Rashid got 1,261 and 400 votes, respectively, at this polling station.

Votes exceeding ballot papers issued

At polling station No. 309, the number of votes cast was more than three times the number of ballot papers issued as per Form-46. Out of 1,629 voters assigned to the polling station, 1,560 (95.76 per cent cast votes for the National Assembly seat, of which 1,273 voted for Nawaz Sharif as per Form-45.

At polling station No. 309, the total number of votes polled was over three times higher than the total ballot papers issued as per Form-46.

Similarly, Form-46 of the polling station still available on the ECP’s website reveals that only 475 ballot papers had been issued at the polling station. This number corresponds with the number of votes polled for the provincial assembly, which stood at 472, reflecting a turnout of 28.97 per cent.

The number of polled votes was exactly 1,000 more than the total number of ballot papers issued at polling station No. 6. According to Form-45, up to 1,736 (93.32 per cent) of the total 1,901 cast ballots, with Nawaz Sharif securing 1,235.

Pakistan

However, Form-46 shows a total of 736 ballot papers were issued, of which 13 had been rejected. For the provincial assembly seat, a total of 784 voted at the same polling station with PTI-backed Zubair Niazi, securing 376 votes as against 214 bagged by PML-N’s Marghoob Ahmad.

The number of votes polled was exactly 1,000 more than the total number of ballot papers issued at polling station No. 6. According to Form-45, up to 1,736 (93.32 per cent) of the total 1,901 cast ballots, with Nawaz Sharif securing 1,235.

Likewise, 1,618 of the total 1,800 voters cast votes for NA-130 at polling station No. 52, while as per Form-46, only 619 ballot papers were issued. For the provincial assembly seat, 558 cast their votes at the same polling station.

Another over a dozen polling stations had a turnout of between 90 per cent and 95 per cent, and around 20 with a gap between 80 per cent and 80 per cent for the NA seat, in a complete mismatch with the votes polled for the PA.

The highest gap of 1,608 was registered at polling station No. 48, where the number of votes polled for the National Assembly seat was almost five times higher than the ballots cast for the polling station. Only 418 of the 2,176 voters assigned to the polling station voted for the provincial assembly, where the PML-N candidate could bag only 131 votes. In sharp contrast, 2,026 voted for the NA-130—1,809 of them for Nawaz Sharif.

Changes made in Form-48

The results for at least a dozen polling stations are altogether different on Form-45 and Form-48.

On five of the Forms 48, digit “1” has been added to the beginning of the three-digit votes secured by Nawaz Sharif, increasing his vote count by a thousand votes.

These include polling station No. 117, where Nawaz Sharif received 247 votes compared to 420 votes for Yasmin Rashid, according to Form-45 on the ECP website, but as per Form-48, Sharif received 1,247 votes.

Likewise, 285 votes secured by Sharif at polling station No. 247 have been changed from 285 to 1,285; at polling station No. 97 from 283 to 1,283; at polling station No 363 from 176 to 1,176; and at polling station No. 35 from 191 to 1,191, and Yasmin Rashid’s votes coming down from 156 to 56.

At polling station No 3, the 133 votes clinched by Sharif became 1,734 in Form-48, and at polling station No. 86, as many as 241 votes secured by the former prime minister were changed to 1,240. What is all the more interesting is that 377 votes secured by Yasmin Rashid as per Form-45 shrunk to 293 in the Form-48.

Likewise, at polling station No. 77, the votes secured by Nawaz Sharif increased from 753 to 1,053, whereas 406 votes clinched by Yasmin Rashid decreased to 122.

Pakistan

At polling station No. 36, Sharif’s votes rose from 236 to 1208 while Dr. Yasmin’s votes plummeted from 275 to 55.

At polling station No. 183, Sharif’s votes jumped from 221 to 1,100, and Yasmin’s votes dropped from 297 to 100 in Form-48.

Similar was the case with polling station No. 141, where Sharif’s 209 votes surged to 1,109 and 305 of Yasmin’s reduced to a single digit “5”.

At polling station No. 332, the 206 votes bagged by Sharif increased to 1,100, without affecting 229 votes secured by Yasmin.

Way forward

The documented irregularities in Pakistan’s 2024 general elections, particularly in NA-130, expose significant flaws in the electoral process, including inflated vote counts, altered records, and unexplained discrepancies in turnout. These issues undermine the credibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan and raise serious questions about the fairness of Nawaz Sharif’s victory. Without comprehensive reforms and transparent investigations, public trust in the democratic process remains at risk, threatening the legitimacy of future elections.

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