Islamabad:
During a election at Sialkot PP-52 constituency on Sunday, observers that belonged to the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), sustained cases of illegal campaign near the electoral room, isolated violations of voter identification, voting and counting procedures.
However, in a three-page report issued on Tuesday, Fafen noted that the general environment around polling rooms remained largely peaceful at the polling room.
PML-n’s candidate Hina Arshad Warraich received the highest number of votes in the voting election held after the seat fell vacant because of her father Arshad Warraich’s death. Both PTI and PPP had later accused the reigning party of using state machines to win the polls.
The report said the election was characterized by a slight decrease in turnout and a reduction in the number of invalid votes compared to the 2024 parliamentary elections in the midst of isolated procedural irregularities, including disruption of the counting process from police officers at an election room.
Despite a decrease in turnout-from 50% to 45%-the margin of victory is markedly from 8,535 votes in GE-2024 to 39,684 in the city pollen. The preliminary consolidated statement of the results of Count (Form-47) was completed approx. 1:15, well within the legal deadline 2:00.
The report cited a particularly serious incident in which a police who were conditional was included in the premises for the parliament No. 169 when the number of ballots was underway.
“They removed party agents and observers present in the counting hall, and took the election material and the polling staff away with them without waiting for the process to be completed. The FAF was unable to get a copy of the result of the count of the election room for the election.”
The report noted that while the turnout in the election was lower than in the GE-2024, it was slightly higher than the turnout registered in the recent NA-213 Umerkot election held in April 2025.
Female turnout fell from 47 percent in GE-2024 to 39 percent, while male turnout fell from 53 percent to 50 percent in the election.
“According to Form-47, PML-N’s voting share rose from 41 percent in GE-2024 to 59 percent in the election. The runner-up-independent candidate, supported by PTI, so its voting share fell from 35 percent to 29 percent.”
The Fafen had deployed ten trained observers, including seven men and three women who observed voting and counting processes of 39 of the 185 electoral places established in the constituency.
According to the FAFEN -Observators, about 79 percent of the observed voting stations had the party’s/candidate’s camps near the polling stations, while 85 percent polling premises had banners or flags of competition candidates or parties shown in their surroundings.
The party’s camps around electoral locations also showed campaign materials and distributed voter chits and food to visitors about 23 percent of the observed electoral premises. Party-supported vehicles were seen to provide transport to voters outside 46 percent of the observed electoral places.
It said the polling stations were observed to control the National Identity Cards (NICS), which marked the thumbs of the qualified voters with indelible ink, obtained thumb impressions on election rolls and beats their names on the election rolls on almost all of the observed polling stalls.
“However, it was observed to skip loudly to call the voters’ name so that the elections could know the identity of incoming voters and match it with their copy of election rolls to 49 percent of the observed electoral premises,” it added.
