ISLAMABAD, May 02 (DNA): Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians
Secretary General, Senator Farhatullah Babar and Pakistan Peoples Party
Secretary General, Nayyar Hussain Bukhari have said that the
Election Commission of Pakistan has decided a recount in constituency
NA-249 at the request of PML-N in the by-elections and while we welcome
this decision, the manner in which such a situation was handled in the
2018 elections was very different.

The PDM was made by the PPP and now we demand withdrawal of show cause
notice and apology to us.

Farhatullah Babar said that we want to put forward some important points
about the by-election of NA-249. The Election Commission has decided to
recount at the request of PML-N. This is their right. We welcome it and
want to see the Election Commission of Pakistan strong. Same was said in
the 2018 elections that where the winning margin was less than 5%, it
should have been recounted. The recount was to be held in 34
constituencies which were not conducted. Only the recount of two
constituencies started and was stopped and never completed.

He said that this constituency NA-249 was not new to the PPP. The PPP
candidate from this constituency had also won in the 1988 elections. The
PPP does not have a large majority of votes in this constituency but we
have considerable support for the PPP. The PPP has shown groundwork,
activism and has now won.

He said that only the Election Commission could explain the reason for
the delay in the counting process but there were 30 candidates and eight
election observers who had to be given the Form 45 during Ramadan. For
this exercise, the Election Commission has to fill 10-12 forms.
Farhatullah Babar said that if we had lost this election, we would never
have had raised this issue. We believe in election laws. He said that in
the recount, the votes of PPP may increase. He said to the PML-N that
you must go to the Election Commission but do not say that the PPP has
come through the help of the establishment. Our movement is against
Imran Khan and not the opposition.

Farhatullah Babar said that the internet is being tampered with in the
name of security in Pakistan. Electronic voting will be more dangerous
here. The countries that started it have also given up on using
electronic voting machines. He said that this government is not serious
about negotiating with the opposition. They are incompetent.

In response to a question, Farhatullah Babar said that the internet is
being tampered with in the name of security every day in Pakistan. Many
of the countries that started this experiment gave up and Imran Khan
should know that there is a report by NADRA about EVM. He said that the
PPP made the PDM, who are these people who are talking about us
approaching them to rejoin the PDM, instead they should come to us, take
back the show cause notice and apologize to us.

Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said that the ground realities are very
clear. PPP candidate has been present in this constituency. Qadir
Mandokhel is a political activist. He has experimented with other
political parties in the past like PML-N and PTI. PTI had introduced a
technocrat Hafeez Sheikh who lost the Senate election. In NA-249 the
PML-N introduced another technocrat, Miftah Ismail who also lost.

Before this, the role of the PTI candidate in this constituency was also
in front of everyone who used to bring shoes and put them on the table
and sometimes came with pistols. Nayyar Bukhari said that unemployment
and lawlessness has increased in the country. We believe that the
Election Commission will take decisions according to the law. Bukhari
said that the PML-N harmed the PDM. The PPP was ready for a long march
and no-confidence motion against the government.

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